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Why 92% of Players Quit: Duamentes Report Exposes Costly Mistakes Across the GameDev Industry
The GameDev industry has stopped growing. Despite strong top-line numbers — mobile ($96.2B), console ($52.4B), and PC ($40.4B) — studios are being stretched by rising production costs, gameplay fatigue, and shifting user expectations.
The Global GameDev market is valued at $189.3B in 2025, signalling stabilization — not acceleration. In mature regions like the US and Europe, growth has stalled entirely. The industry is under pressure: studios are shutting down, layoffs are rising (Meta, Codemasters, Respawn, Nerial, NetEase Games and more), the old success formulas no longer work, and the post-pandemic boom is over.
Duamentes Gaming Report 2025 highlights the urgent need for change: player retention is broken, and most studios fail to understand what players actually want — and by the time they find out in beta, it’s too late to save the game or the business behind it, with examples including:
- Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (Rocksteady, 2024) launched to high expectations but faced poor reviews and rapid player drop-off, reportedly losing over $200 million before support was scaled back in early 2025.
- Concord (Firewalk Studios, 2024) drew immediate criticism for lacking originality in a crowded hero shooter market, with doubts about its relevance even before launch.
- XDefiant (Ubisoft, 2024) launched with promise but quickly declined due to balance issues and low retention, leading to its shutdown and studio closure in 2025.
“Studios keep building games players don’t want, delay testing, misread player behavior, and try to fix retention too late. We’re seeing the same mistakes repeated across platforms,” said Maria Amirkhanyan, Head of Gaming Division at Duamentes.
Mind the Gap: Why Developers Are Losing Touch with Players
Duamentes report combines global market trends with industry leaders’ in-depth interviews, surveys, and players’ behavioral insights — showing a clear gap between player expectations and developer workflows.
Players want meaning, not just mechanics — they want emotional clarity, narrative hooks, social features that foster belonging, and a genuine respect for their time, not manipulation.
“As short-form platforms like TikTok change how users discover games, the bar for first-session clarity has never been higher. Studios now compete not just with other games — but with every other moment of screen time,” said Maria Amirkhanyan, Head of Gaming Division at Duamentes.
Player challenges
- 92% of players churn before Day 30
- 70% of players drop off within the first few sessions, often before the game has a chance to connect.
- 38% decide whether to quit during the very first session seeking emotional connection, social features, and immediate clarity.
- 60% of new mobile games launched in 5 crowded genres and most struggled to break through.
- 40% of games entering new regions fail due to cultural mismatches in UX, tone, or monetisation.
Industry & Studio Challenges
- 71% of studios delay user testing until beta — but by then, it’s often too late to fix what matters.
- 49% of developers say unionisation is necessary to protect working conditions in an industry increasingly shaped by burnout and uncertainty.
- 40% of developers say their teams have been impacted by layoffs.
- 46% of developers work over 50 hours per week — up from 35% last year
Root causes of failed game releases
The report points to a growing industry divide between those who adapt and those who don’t. As outlined, many studios still rely on practices that no longer serve them:
- “Build first, test later” leads to costly rework
- Relying on genre popularity over emotional engagement
- Live service overload without meaningful progression
- Ignoring cultural nuance during global launches
- Designing for metrics, not meaning
“In turbulent times, playtesting and user research are more important than ever for releasing games that players, critics, and investors love. Gaining early insight into the player experience helps identify problems while there’s still time to fix them, aligns teams around a shared vision of what’s being built, and clarifies development priorities — reducing costly rework and making production more predictable and less chaotic,” stated Steve Bromley, Games User Research Consultant, author of How To Be A Games User Researcher.
Indies Are Rising
While many AAA studios struggle to innovate under mounting costs and conservative pipelines, indie studios are emerging as the creative engine of the industry. With players increasingly seeking smaller, emotionally resonant, and more affordable experiences, indies are filling a crucial gap.
“The quality and relevance of indie games will soar as more developers embrace independence and tools improve… Indie games will claim an all-time high share of top Metacritic titles, putting indie studios at the forefront of innovation,” said Amir Satvat, Game Industry Strategist & Founder of Amir Satvat’s Games Community.
Six Principles to Build High-Performing Games
From the studios that succeed, the patterns are clear — and they’re embedded in the six principles outlined in Duamentes Gaming Report:
- Test onboarding and narrative in early prototyping
- Align UX, monetisation, and player emotion
- Build modular systems to adapt faster
- View player feedback as strategic input, not noise
- Invest in junior talent pipelines, protecting creativity over time
- Respect player time by replacing grind with clarity and purpose
These principles are the result of Duamentes in-depth research, cross-industry benchmarking, and firsthand analysis of what sets high-performing studios apart. As a strategic and product consulting firm operating across 40 countries and 20 industries for nearly a decade, Duamentes has been closely tracking market dynamics. While the industry tightens, the demand for deep, actionable expertise continues to grow.
“We already have that expertise, with a cross-industrial approach and extensive insight database, and now we’re strengthening it further by launching a dedicated Gaming Division, which we’re announcing at the AI & Games User Research conference,” said Maria Amirkhanyan.
The post Why 92% of Players Quit: Duamentes Report Exposes Costly Mistakes Across the GameDev Industry appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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LambdaTest Unveils the World’s First Platform to Test AI Agents: Introducing Agent-to-Agent Testing
AI-native Multi-Agent System Delivers Smarter, Faster, and More Comprehensive Software Testing
LambdaTest, the leading AI-native testing platform, has launched the private beta release of its Agent-to-Agent Testing, the world’s first platform designed to validate and assess AI agents. With the rise of AI agents in developer workflows, the platform is set to revolutionize the way organizations test and validate their AI agents across conversation flows, intent recognition, tone consistency, complex reasoning, and beyond.
As enterprises increasingly rely on AI agents to power customer experiences, a critical challenge has emerged: no standard way of testing various AI Agents. These agents interact with users and systems in ways that are dynamic and unpredictable, making it hard to ensure their reliability and performance. Traditional testing methods fall short when the system under test is inherently unpredictable.
Organizations need a new, smarter way to test AI applications at scale, which is where Agent-to-Agent Testing comes in. LambdaTest’s Agent-to-Agent Testing platform is the first of its kind. The platform uses a suite of specialized AI testing agents to rigorously validate chat and voice AI agents..
Teams can upload existing requirement documents in various formats, such as text, images, audio, and video, and the system automatically handles multi-modal analysis to generate relevant test scenarios, simulating real-world challenges that could break the AI agent under test. Each scenario includes precise validation criteria and expected responses, evaluated within HyperExecute, LambdaTest’s next-gen test orchestration cloud, delivering up to 70% faster test execution than standard automation grids.
The platform highlights different key metrics like Bias, Completeness, Hallucinations, etc., to help teams analyse the quality of their AI agent
By integrating agentic AI and GenAI technologies, it generates real-world scenarios such as tone of personality agents, data privacy considerations, and executes test cases with unparalleled accuracy. This ensures much broader and more diverse test coverage compared to traditional testing tools. Unlike single-agent systems, LambdaTest’s Agent-to-Agent Testing leverages multiple large language models (LLMs), which the agents use for reasoning and test generation. This multi-agent approach results in a much more comprehensive and detailed test suite, enabling deeper, more robust testing of AI applications.
“Every AI agent you deploy is unique, and that’s both its greatest strength and its biggest risk! As AI applications become more complex, traditional testing approaches simply can’t keep up with the dynamic nature of AI agents,” said Asad Khan, CEO and Co-Founder at LambdaTest. ” Our Agent-to-Agent Testing platform thinks like a real user, generating smart, context-aware test scenarios that mimic real-world situations your AI might struggle with. Each test comes with clear validation checkpoints and the responses we’d expect to see.”
Enterprises using Agent-to-Agent Testing will experience faster test creation, evaluation of Agents, reduced testing cycles, and significant improvements in test coverage. The multi-agent system can generate a 5 to 10-fold increase in test coverage, providing a more comprehensive view of AI agent performance.
Furthermore, the integration with HyperExecute means teams receive rapid feedback, reducing the time between testing and iteration. By automating much of the testing process, companies also reduce their reliance on manual QA efforts, resulting in significant cost savings. With 15 purpose-built AI testing agents ranging from security researchers to compliance validators, LambdaTest Agent-to-Agent testing ensures every deployment is as robust, safe, and reliable as possible. Helping teams ship their AI agents with confidence.
Learn more about Agent-to-Agent Testing by LambdaTest here: lambdatest.com/agent-to-agent-testing
To watch the live unveiling of the platform, join the Testμ Conference 2025 on 20th August, 2025: lambdatest.com/testmuconf-2025
The post LambdaTest Unveils the World’s First Platform to Test AI Agents: Introducing Agent-to-Agent Testing appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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ADG Launches First-Ever Statewide Campaign to Empower and Protect Consumers
The Arizona Department of Gaming (“the Department”) is proud to announce the launch of its first-ever statewide Public Education Campaign focused on protecting consumers, promoting public awareness, and reducing the harms associated with unregulated gambling. This is a significant milestone in the Department’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers and ensure a safe and responsible gaming environment.
Arizona offers a variety of legal, regulated gaming options throughout the state, including tribal casinos, event wagering, fantasy sports, and parimutuel wagering. For 30 years, ADG has safeguarded the integrity of Arizona’s gaming industry through rigorous oversight, licensing, and enforcement in accordance with the Tribal-State Gaming Compacts. This new campaign expands on that mission by educating Arizonans on how to avoid illegal gambling and access support services when needed.
The campaign is designed to inform and empower the public by emphasizing the risks of engaging with unlicensed operators and providing them with tools to identify legal, regulated options. It aims to reduce consumer vulnerability, prevent exploitation, and help individuals make informed decisions if they choose to participate in gaming activities.
The campaign kicks off with a series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs), developed in collaboration with the Arizona Media Association, which will be aired across TV, radio, print, and digital platforms. Available in both English and Spanish, the PSAs will:
- Educate the public on how to identify legal, regulated gaming operators in Arizona
- Emphasize consumer protection and the safeguards provided by regulated gaming environments
- Highlight the role regulated gaming plays in supporting Arizona communities and essential services
- Promote the 1-800-NEXT STEP helpline, which connects individuals to confidential, 24/7 support for problem gambling
To complement the PSAs, ADG has launched the Check Your Bet webpage, which serves as a centralized resource to verify regulated gaming and access consumer protection tools. The webpage includes:
- A searchable list and interactive map of authorized Tribal Casinos in Arizona
- A searchable list and interactive map of licensed Event Wagering and Fantasy Sports Operators and their retail locations
- Information on Advanced Deposit Wagering Providers (ADWPs), Off-Track Betting (OTB) locations, and permitted horse racing tracks in Arizona
- How to access the Division of Problem Gambling’s Helpline, a confidential Problem Gambling Self-Screening Quiz, and additional supportive resources
- How to request Self-Exclusion, a voluntary program to prohibit oneself from Tribal Casinos and Event Wagering and Fantasy Sports Contests
- Guidance on submitting tips about suspected illegal gambling to the Department and filing consumer complaints with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office
For more information, visit the Check Your Bet webpage at gaming.az.gov/checkyourbet.
“We are proud to celebrate 30 years of providing world-class gaming regulation and consumer protection,” said Jackie Johnson, Director of the Arizona Department of Gaming. “This campaign is about empowering Arizonans who choose to participate in gaming with the knowledge to make informed, responsible decisions. As illegal and unregulated options on the market increase, the Check Your Bet webpage serves as a key resource for the public to verify licensed operators and access support. By directing viewers from our PSAs to this tool, we’re helping ensure people not only play safely, but also know where to turn if they or a loved one are struggling with problem gambling.”
Since its founding in 1995, the Department has worked tirelessly to ensure that Arizona’s gaming industry operates with transparency, integrity, and responsibility. The campaign will run through the end of March 2026 and reflects ADG’s commitment to a safe, transparent, and well-regulated gaming landscape in Arizona.
The post ADG Launches First-Ever Statewide Campaign to Empower and Protect Consumers appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Arizona Department of Gaming Continues Enforcement Against Unlicensed and Unregulated Gaming Operators
The Arizona Department of Gaming (“ADG”) has issued cease-and-desist orders to four additional unlicensed and unregulated gambling operators targeting Arizona residents. The identified operators are reportedly offering access to illegal online gambling platforms, including “sweepstakes” casino-style models and event wagering sportsbook betting options. Unlicensed operators operating outside the law and without regulatory safeguards pose serious risks to consumer protection and financial security across the state, undermining the integrity of Arizona’s regulated gaming industry.
This latest action underscores the Department’s commitment to protecting the public and upholding Arizona’s gaming laws. ADG continues to actively monitor, investigate, and take enforcement action against entities attempting to exploit Arizona residents through unauthorized gambling activities, including possible enforcement actions in partnership with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
The following entities are not licensed by the State of Arizona. Therefore, cease-and-desist orders have been issued to:
- Event Wagering Sportsbook:
- Fliff Online Gambling
- Thrillzz Mobile Gambling
- Sweepstakes:
- BettySweeps Casino
- Pulsz Casino
The active operations of these companies and online websites in Arizona are alleged to be felony criminal enterprises, and each operator has been directed to desist from any future illegal gambling operations or activities of any type in Arizona. Due to the unregulated and illegal online gaming offerings on these sites, operators are claimed to be in violation of Arizona gaming laws, including
- Promotion of Gambling (Felony) — A.R.S. § 13-3303.
- Illegal Control of an Enterprise (Felony) — A.R.S. § 13-2312.
- Money Laundering (Felony) — A.R.S. § 13-2317.
Each aforementioned operator has been directed to immediately cease all online (or other) gambling operations and activities in Arizona and take the necessary steps to immediately prevent and exclude Arizona residents and visitors from gambling on their websites.
Consumer Protection Advisory:
As illegal online gaming activity continues to rise, the ADG urges all residents and visitors to be cautious when participating in gaming, whether online or in person. Regulated gaming offers important consumer protections, helping ensure fair play, data security, accountability, and a safer overall experience.
Many online platforms currently accessible in Arizona are neither licensed nor regulated, exposing users to significant risks, including fraud, identity theft, and financial loss. Because these operations fall outside the state’s regulatory authority, ADG cannot assist with complaints or disputes involving unregulated or illegal gaming activities, often leaving victims with no recourse for recovering lost funds. It is important to remember: just because you can download the app, access the website, and play the games does not mean the platform is legal or safe.
Individuals are encouraged to verify the legitimacy of any gaming platform before placing bets or engaging in gameplay. To protect yourself, always use legally authorized and state-regulated operators. A complete list of authorized casinos, event wagering operators, fantasy sports operators, and off-track betting and advanced deposit wagering providers for horse racing is available on ADG’s official website: gaming.az.gov/checkyourbet.
How to Report Suspicious Gaming Activity, Fraud, or Identity Theft:
- If you encounter what appears to be an illegal gaming website, app, or an operation impersonating an authorized Arizona casino or licensed operator, take the following steps:
- Document the website URL, app, business name, and any promotional materials associated with the platform or operator.
- Report it to ADG at [email protected] and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Consumer Information and Complaints Unit at (602) 542-5763 or by visiting azag.gov/consumer.
- Cease activity on the platform and monitor financial accounts for unauthorized transactions.
- If you suspect identity theft, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”): for help in English, go to IdentityTheft.gov, and for help in Spanish, go to RobodeIdentidad.gov.
ADG takes complaints about all illegal gambling seriously. To report any form of suspected illegal gambling, visit gaming.az.gov/about/contact-us, call ADG at (602) 255-3886, or email [email protected]. Reports can be made anonymously.
The post Arizona Department of Gaming Continues Enforcement Against Unlicensed and Unregulated Gaming Operators appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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