Report: D2C becoming essential for ambitious live-service games
March 12, 2026
Xsolla, the video game commerce company, has released the latest edition of The Xsolla Report. This edition provides insights from working with thousands of studios to map out where the industry’s biggest opportunities are emerging.
The gaming industry remains vibrant, and the playbook for success is changing. Studios that are adapting their commercial strategies, embracing direct-to-player commerce, expanding into high-growth global markets, and leveraging AI to sharpen operations are pulling ahead and building businesses designed to thrive for years to come.
“The economics of game development have and will continue to shift and evolve into the future. Budgets have expanded, player acquisition costs have surged, and traditional publishing models are under increasing strain,” said Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla. “We have reached a tipping point where old assumptions no longer hold, and leaders who recognise this shift early will capture disproportionate advantage.”
“The conversation around direct-to-consumer in gaming has fundamentally changed coming out of multiple regulatory changes,” added Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Xsolla. “What began as a tactical revenue diversification play has evolved into a strategic imperative for studios to grow and thrive into the future of live-service games.“
Key findings from the report include:
- Leading game companies are already generating 15–45 per cent of total revenue through D2C web shops, yielding up to 25 per cent more profit per transaction compared to platform-based purchases
- High-growth markets like Turkey (13 per cent CAGR), India (11 per cent), and Southeast Asia (6 per cent) represent the industry’s most exciting expansion opportunities through 2029
- AI is delivering real operational gains, compressing development timelines by roughly 20 per cent and reducing support costs by approximately 40 per cent
- ‘Platform omnivore’ gamers who play across consoles, PC, and mobile now represent 43 per cent of US gamers, up from 30 per cent, creating new pathways for studios to reach players wherever they are
- Titles with sustainable live service models continue to grow, with PUBG: Battlegrounds reaching approximately 75 million Steam users and Roblox on Xbox climbing to nearly 30 million owners
- The April 2025 US court ruling allowing in-app linking to external offers has opened the door for developers to engage players across channels like never before
The report also outlines a clear roadmap for what leaders should prioritise next: building for modularity and faster development cycles, investing in owned audience infrastructure, and turning compliance into a competitive advantage as global markets open up.
“We’re entering a period where the studios with strong foundational commercial infrastructure will outperform those with superior creative execution alone,” concluded Egenes. “D2C is becoming a table-stakes requirement for ambitious live-service games, and the studios that treat this moment as strategic will be the ones defining the future of mobile gaming success.”
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