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Why 92% of Players Quit: Duamentes Report Exposes Costly Mistakes Across the GameDev Industry

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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:

  1. 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.
  1. Concord (Firewalk Studios, 2024) drew immediate criticism for lacking originality in a crowded hero shooter market, with doubts about its relevance even before launch.
  1. 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:

  1. Test onboarding and narrative in early prototyping
  2. Align UX, monetisation, and player emotion
  3. Build modular systems to adapt faster
  4. View player feedback as strategic input, not noise
  5. Invest in junior talent pipelines, protecting creativity over time
  6. 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.

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

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N1 Partners launches a promo for N1 Bet: earn extra payouts for your FTDs!

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N1 Partners has just launched a new campaign for its flagship brand – N1 Bet. Until the end of November partners can boost their payouts by up to +7% when driving traffic to two key Tier-1 GEOs: Australia and Germany.

Promo period: October 16 – November 30
Promo GEOs: Australia (AU), Germany (DE)
Traffic sources: FB, In-App, UAC, Email, SMS, SEO, PPC, ASO, and more.

* How it works: the more FTDs your players bring, the higher your bonus to your CPA.

  • 500–899 FTDs → +5% payout on CPA
  • 900+ FTDs → +7% payout on CPA

* Results for Australia and Germany are combined, as well as all accounts of one participating team within the affiliate network.

Why is it worth focusing on Australia and Germany with N1 Partners?

  • 🇩🇪 Germany (DE) brings steady, high-quality traffic with strong evening activity and players who prefer dynamic slot mechanics.
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Joining this promo also boosts your progress in the N1 Puzzle Promo, the massive campaign featuring luxury prizes and the ultimate reward: a Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter. The more traffic you send to N1 Bet, the closer you are to the leaderboard’s top!

N1 Bet is a part of a top iGaming affiliate program and one of N1 Partners strongest and most consistent brands, that offers solid conversion, flexible promos, and smart analytics to help affiliates earn more. With an updated design and an optimized retention funnel, the brand performs equally well across online affiliate programs (slots & live) and sports betting segments.

Work with a brand that delivers – and get the most out of every lead!

For questions or personal assistance, reach out to your Affiliate Manager or our LeadGen Manager Christina via the contacts below:
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Be number one with N1!

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SOFTSWISS Deepens Safer Play as Platinum Partner of Responsible Gambling Summit 2025

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SOFTSWISS, an international technology provider with over 15 years in the iGaming sector, has partnered with South African entities for the Responsible Gambling Summit 2025, reinforcing its commitment to safe, sustainable play in one of its key growth regions. The two-day summit, organised by the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation, brings together regulators, operators, and experts to advance harm minimisation and industry collaboration.

The Responsible Gambling Summit 2025 will take place from 13 to 14 November in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will include an awards gala dinner recognising initiatives in safer gambling. The programme spans policy, compliance, innovation, and public education, with sessions on illegal market impacts, regulatory development, and technology’s role in prevention and intervention. A SOFTSWISS representative will join the panel discussion ‘Innovation, Technology, and Responsible Gambling’, which explores emerging risks and mitigation strategies in digital environments.

“Industry partnership is essential to keep responsible gambling and player protection visible, effective, and evidence-based across channels. We greatly value the commitment and partnership of prominent international companies, such as SOFTSWISS, whose support brings expertise and resources to these important initiatives in South Africa,” said Sibongile Simelane-Quntana, Executive Director at the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation.

“South Africa is a priority market for SOFTSWISS, and we are proud to support this summit’s mission to advance safer play through collaboration and technology,” said Miranda Guliashvili, Head of Regional Growth at SOFTSWISS. “We continuously apply responsible gambling best practices in our products to help operators build sustainable, compliant growth.”

Building on this commitment, the SOFTSWISS Anti-Fraud team has delivered measurable results: from January to August 2025, it prevented over 15 million euro in fraudulent transactions, resolved more than 56,000 tasks, and processed 70 player complaints submitted to gaming regulators and forums. As fraud tactics evolve – including attempts to use AI-generated deepfakes during verification – SOFTSWISS is strengthening its tools and processes to help operators maintain a secure, transparent environment.

 

About SOFTSWISS

SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience in developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 35,000 casino games, Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. The expert team, based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia, counts over 2,000 employees.

The post SOFTSWISS Deepens Safer Play as Platinum Partner of Responsible Gambling Summit 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Week 42/2025 slot games releases

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Here are this weeks latest slots releases compiled by European Gaming

PG Soft, a world-class digital mobile games company, has released its powerful new title, Kraken Gold Rush. PG Soft’s game invites players to embark on the perilous high seas and navigate past The Kraken’s monstrous tentacles, desperate to drag ships into the abyss. Sticky Wilds and multipliers reaching x100 help players hunt down a legendary haul of 10 million gold coins.

Evoplay has launched Velvet Gems, a glamorous slot filled with sparkling stones, seamless gameplay, and high reward potential. The game immerses players in a luxurious realm of shimmering rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, where each spin radiates opulence. Striking visuals and a refined soundtrack create a premium atmosphere, making it a perfect choice for players seeking an elegant, feature-rich experience.

The authorities thought they’d finally locked away The Syndicate, the most notorious crew of fugitives in history. But in Nolimit City’s latest release, Breakout, not even a maximum security prison can hold them. This jailbreak-themed slot adds to the list of this year’s releases; Dead Men Walking, Tsar Wars and Kill Em All.

Think you are brave enough to return to the Castle of Terror? This lab experiment-horror sequel from Big Time Gaming is a bone-chilling adventure packed with electrifying features designed to give you the fright of your life. This is a slot where players find themselves in a spooky lab where they must brace themselves for Bonus Respins that are triggered by landing Scatters.

BGaming brings the party to the reels with the release of its latest slot, Fiesta Clusters. This vibrant, highly volatile slice of action combines the celebratory spirit of Cinco de Mayo with the expressive artistry of Día de los Muertos, delivering vibrant thrills for players and a seasonal spike potential for operators around Halloween.

Push Gaming is set to deliver twice the thrills this Halloween with the release of two new seasonal titles, Tarot Treasures and Tricky Treats. Both games highlight the recent launch of Push Gaming’s new product segmentation. Push Action delivers titles with enhanced layers of mechanics and player interaction, a category which Tarot Treasures proudly joins.

Spinomenal has launched Buffalo Rampage – Hold & Hit 3×3, a 3×3 reel, 5 lines video slot. Buffalo Rampage – Hold & Hit 3×3 unfolds across a sun-scorched desert at dusk, framed by towering cacti and brought to life with a slow-paced and Western-inspired soundtrack that immerses players in the action.

TaDa Gaming, has added some dark magic to its TriLuck slots series with its five reels, three rows and 50 fixed paylines new game, 3 Witch’s Lamp. Green, Purple and Blue Potion Pot Scatters can trigger the bonus game’s free spins, five fixed jackpots, ignite coins for wins and increase the bonus prizes.

Blueprint Gaming has introduced a new four pots mechanic and enlarged 5×3 grid to its latest release, Cash Strike Power Force 5marking an innovative double debut for the internationally recognised series. With various iterations from the Cash Strike family consistently ranking in the supplier’s top 10 revenue-generating markets, the new title builds on the impressive momentum from its predecessors.

Play’n GO invites players underwater in Bubblin’ Riches, a 6×4 slot where golden coins and greedy fish collide for submerged surprises. Set in a playful underwater reef, Bubblin’ Riches brings a burst of colour and charm to the reels. At the heart of the action is a bloated Goldfish with a hoarding habit – every Coin Scatter that lands could feed its fortune, or set off a surprise payout.

Playson turns up the heat in its scorching new release Flaming Bells: Hold and Win, where nostalgic gameplay is reinspired with a 5,000x Grand Jackpot, Extra Bonus Game and valuable Multipliers. Collect symbols gather all visible cash values from the reels, including other Collect icons and the three in-game Jackpot symbol values.

ELA Games beckons players to step into a shadowy realm of sorcery and mystery with its newest release: Witches’ Book. Bathe in the magic as a powerful coven of three witches conjures their spells across the reels, revealing mysterious rewards and surprises. Each spin is a step toward ultimate strength, where massive riches and bubbling magic await.

Amusnet has released its latest online video slot, 27 Wild Shots. This vibrant slot game blends the style of classic fruit games with the charm of a fairytale twist, led by none other than the Little Red Riding Hood herself. The three reels burst with familiar symbols of juicy fruits, reimagined in a lively forest theme.

The post Week 42/2025 slot games releases appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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