Скачать или смотреть 5 Forces That Will Shape the Video Game Industry in 2026

2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for the video game industry.

After a strong 2025 both in terms of creativity and revenue, gaming is entering a period of consolidation. Market saturation, rising costs and layoffs are forcing studios and platforms to rethink how games are made, distributed, and sustained.

In this video, I break down five forces that will sit at the centre of most industry conversations in 2026, and why they matter for developers, creators, platforms, and players alike.

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction
01:08 Force 1 - Generative AI
02:37 Force 2 - User Generated Content and the Creator Economy
04:12 Force 3 - Cloud Gaming and Platform Agnosticism
05:25 Force 4 - The Opening Up of App Stores
06:23 Force 5 - The Rise of Lean Studios and Focused Development
07:18 Bonus Topic
07:55 Wrap-Up

NEWS ARTICLES:
"Indie Game Awards Strips Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 of Game of the Year Over Gen AI, Dev Says 'Placeholder' Textures Were Patched Out After Slipping Through QA Process" by IGN:
https://www.ign.com/articles/indie-ga...

"Larian will not use generative AI for Divinity concept art" by Alex Forbes-Calvin, GamesIndustry.biz
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/larian-...

REPORTS:
"How Platforms Are Colliding and Why This Will Spark the Next Era of Growth" by BCG
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025...

YOUTUBE:
"Replica Smart NPCs #Experience #AI featuring The Matrix Awakens" - ‪@ReplicaStudios‬
   • Replica Smart NPCs #Experience #AI featuri...  

GAMES FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO (BY ORDER OF APPEARANCE):
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Divinity, Roblox, Fortnite, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Blue Prince, Hades II, Dispatch, Split Fiction, Grand Theft Auto VI,

ATTRIBUTIONS:
Some of the icons used in this video were designed by Freepik: www.freepik.com