The

Futureof

Play:KeyTrendsintheGamesIndustry2026ContentsWhat

happened

inthegames

industry

in

2025?

3Player

protection-creating

safergaming

environments4Continuedgrowthofcasualgaming8New

uses

ofAIingaming10Rise

offoreign

investment

in

China12Keytakeawaysand

predictions14Key

contacts

162

Keytrends

ingames

2026Whathappenedinthe

gamesindustryin2025?2025wasaturbulentyearforthevideogames

industry.

Whilstrevenues

reportedly

increasedto

nearly

$200

billion(across

morethan

3

billion

playersworldwide),

2025

saw

studio

closures

and

lay-offs,high

profile

litigation

on

industry-critical

issues,

and

an

acceleration

of

thetrendtowardstighter

regulation.

Indeed,governmentsworldwide

are

scrutinising

issues

rangingfrom

player

protection(particularlyfor

minors)

and

data

privacy

in

connectedgaming

experiencesthroughto

platform

responsibilitiesfor

user-generated

content

and

somefundamentalareas

ofmonetisation(suchasvirtual

currencies

and

loot

boxes).Aswe

enter

2026,we

believethe

industrywill

continueto

see

increased

regulation(backed

up

by

more

enforcement

activity)

andrapidtechnological

advancement(particularly,

but

not

exclusively,

in

relationtoAI)Thisarticle

exploresthe

key

developments

expectedto

shapethegames

industry

in

2026,focusing

onthe

regulatory

engine

room

ofthe

UK/EU,

but

also

bringing

in

an

international

perspectivefromour

international

offices.Wewilltouch

on:

stricter

player

protection

measuresacross

multiplejurisdictions,the

consolidation

ofcasualgaming’s

market

dominance,AI’stransitionfrom

an

experimentaltool

toa

core

developmentalfeature,and

new

opportunitiesforforeigninvestment

in

China.3

Keytrends

ingames

2026

Player

protection-creatingsafer

gaming

environmentsPlayer

protection

has

become

a

definingthemeforthegames

industry

in

recentyears,with

regulatorsworldwide

movingawayfrom

light-touch,

self-regulatory

approachestowards

comprehensiveframeworkstackling

illegal

content,

online

safety,

protection

ofminorsand

platformaccountability.4

Keytrends

ingames

2026EU&

UKThe

EU’s

Digital

ServicesAct

(“DSA”)

andthe

UK’s

Online

Safety

Act

(“UKOSA”),

both

covered

in

detail

in

our2025horizonscan,

are

being

actively

enforced

by

regulators.The

EuropeanCommission

(“EC”)

has

openedformal

proceedings

under

DSA,while

Ofcom(the

UK

OSA

regulator)

has

started

actively

enforcing

UK

OSA.

Gameswith

user-generated

content,

in-game

chatcapabilities,worldbuilding

or

marketplacefunctionalitiesare

experiencingthe

most

significant

impact

.From

a

DSA

perspective,

a

significant

update

in

July

2025wasthe

EC’s

publication

of

itsguidelines

on

compliancewithArt

28(1)

DSAwhich

requires

online

platformsto

implement

measuresto

“ensure

a

high

level

of

privacy,

safety,

and

security

of

minors”on

their

service.The

guidelines

recommendawide-ranging

suite

of

safety

measures,

many

ofwhich

reflect

precautionary

measures

proposed

inthe

catalogues

ofthe

Germanyouth

protection

law

and

Ofcom

in

its

Children’s

Safety

Codes

of

Practice.Meanwhile

in

October

2025,

Ofcom

publishedguidancespecifically

addressing

howthe

UK

OSA

appliestothevideogames

industry.The

guidance

clarifiesthatgames

enabling

user

interactionthrough

profile

creation,avatar

manipulation,

object

and

environment

manipulation,

orvoiceandtext

chatwill

likely

fallwithin

scope.

Forfurther

details,

see

ourarticlehere.For

detail

on

howthe

DSA

and

UK

OSA

have

been

implemented

at

a

national

level,

seethe

Bird

&

Bird

DSA

&

UK

OSAImplementationTracker(linkhere).You

canalso

learn

moreabout

howthe

DSA’s

scope

and

obligations

comparethe

UKOSA’s

inthe

Bird

&

Bird

Online

Safety

Stocktake

article

(linkhere).AustraliaIn

a

borderless

digitalworld,

it

seems

inevitablethat

regulatory

trends

in

one

marketwill

spreadto

otherjurisdictions.Australia

has

been

one

ofthe

latestjurisdictionsto

bring

in

new

lawsmoderating

online

platformswiththeAustralian

Online

SafetyAct

(“AUSOSA”).

However,

in

a

pioneering

move,from

10December

2025,

age-restricted

social

media

platforms

(“ARSMP”)

must

demonstratethatthey

aretaking“reasonable

steps”toprevent

under-16sfrom

holding

accounts

ontheir

platforms.WhiletheAustraliangovernment

has

confirmedthat

onlinegames

are

excludedfromthe

Online

Safety(Age-RestrictedSocial

Media

Platforms)

Rules

2025

issued

undertheAUS

OSA

for

now,this

is

subjectto

review

intwoyears.

Given

how

otherjurisdictionsaretreatingvideogames,there

isa

possibilityAustralia

couldfollow

suit

and

bringgameswithin

scope.Guidancefromthe

Office

oftheAustralian

InformationCommissioner

(“OAIC”)

andthe

eSafety

Commissioner

helped

to

shed

light

onthe

regulatory

age-assurance

expectationsonASRMP

inAustralia.

For

more

information,

see

our

recent

article

onthe

OAIC

Guidancehere

and

our

article

on

eSafety

Commissioner

Guidancehere.5

Keytrends

ingames

2026OnlineSafetyThe

regulatory

landscape

described

above

setsthe

sceneforthe

Digital

FairnessAct

(“DFA”),which

is

setto

be

the

keydevelopmenttowatch

in

2026

inthe

EU.Whilethe

legislation

will

not

come

intoforce

until

2027

atthe

earliest,

2026

isthe

yearwhenthe

industrywill

see

howthe

EU

intendsto

extend

player

protection

principlesto

in-game

monetisation

practices,potentiallywitha

particularfocus

onvirtual

currencies.The

DFA

has

emergedfromthe

same

consumer

protectionconcerns

drivingthe

DSA

and

UK

OSA

buttargets

commercialpracticeswithin

digital

services

and

in

particularwithingames.

It

is

designedto

close

perceived

regulatorygaps

left

bythe

DSA,

DMA

and

existing

consumer

protection

legislation,

particularly

regarding

B2C

practices

such

as

dark

patterns

in

subscriptioncancellations,

influenceradvertisingtransparency,and

personalised

pricing.The

significanceforgames

is

particularlyacutegivenwhat

hasin

September

2024,the

European

Consumer

Organisation(BEUC)filed

acomplaint

callingfor

stronger

regulation

ofin-

game

monetisationanda

ban

on

premiumvirtual

currencies;shortly

after,the

Commission’s

Digital

Fairness

‘Fitness

Check’

identifiedthegames

industry

as

a

key

area

ofconcern,highlightingvirtual

currencies,

loot

boxes,

dark

patterns,

personalisationtargeting

minors,

and

lack

ofpricingtransparency;andin

March

2025,the

EU’s

Consumer

Protection

Cooperation

(CPC)

Network

published

its

infamousprinciples

seekingto

promotetransparencyandfairness

inthe

onlinegamingindustry’s

use

ofvirtual

currencies.An

extensive

analysis

of

the

principles

is

set

outhere,

but

in

shorttheytake

a

radical

interpretation

ofexisting

law(arguably

creating

new

law)

in

suchawayasto

compromise

some

ofthefundamentals

of

many

in-game

economies.The

public

consultation

onthe

DFA

closed

on

9

October

2025.The

Commission

is

expectedto

publish

results

in

Q2

2026,with

a

draft

legislative

proposal

anticipated

in

Q3

2026.

It

remainsto

be

seenwhetherthe

DFAwilltaketheform

ofa

directly

applicable

regulation

or

a

directive

requiring

national

implementation.

Inany

case,thegames

industrywill

needto

pro-actively

engageinthe

legislative

processto

ensurethatthe

concerns

raisedbythe

BEUC

and

CPC

Network(aswell

as

inthe

Fitness

Check)are

addressed

in

a

proportionate

mannerthat

does

not

causewholesale

revisionsto

in-game

economies(particularlythosethat

rely

onvirtual

currencies).“2026is

the

year

when

the

industrywill

seehowthe

EU

intendstoextend

player

protection

principles

toin-gamemonetisation

practices”6

Keytrends

ingames

2026occurred

overthe

past

18

months.Asa

briefreminder:DigitalFairnessAct7

Keytrends

ingames

2026New

laws

andguidance

inthe

privacy

&

online

safety

spacerelatingto

age

assurance

continueto

become

applicable–forexample,theAustralian

social

media

delay(seeabove)from

10

December

2025,

and

Ofcom’s

age

assurance

children’s

safetymeasuresfrom

25

July

2025.The

UK,s

privacy

regulator(theInformation

Commissioner

(“ICO”)

and

Ofcom

are

dueto

release

ajoint

statement

onageassurance

in

early

2026.Aglobal

regulatorytrendthat

should

be

monitored

bygamingstudios

isthe

role

ofapp

store-level

age

assurance.There

have

already

been

developments

inthe

US

and

Singapore

inthisspace.

In

November

2025,

Ofcom

launched

a

callfor

evidenceunderthe

UK

OSA

seeking

input

onwhether

children’s

safetywould

be

better

protectedthroughgreater

use

ofage

assurance

at

app

store

level.Thiswould

be

a

shiftfromthe

existingapproach

under

UK

OSA,which

putsthe

onusfor

compliancewith

children’s

safety

measures

onthe

user-to-user

serviceprovider.Withthe

Ofcomcall

forevidence

having

closed

inDecember

2025,we

expectthe

app

store

reportto

be

submitted

tothe

Government

by

January

2027.This

isa

keyareatowatch

asthe

regulatoryapproachtoage

assurance

continuesto

evolve.Children’s

privacy

continuesto

be

a

priorityfocusfor

data

protection

regulators.On

1

December

2025,the

ICOannounced

alongside

its

latestChildren’sCodeStrategy

progressupdate

that

itwill

be

scrutinising

the

compliance

of

10

popular

mobilegameswiththe

Children’s

Code.The

reviewwillassess

default

privacy

settings,geolocation

controls,

andtargeted

advertising

practices.The

ICO

notedthat

“ourearlyreview

suggeststhatmanymobile

games’

design

featurescanbeespeciallyintrusive,raisingimportantquestionsabouthow

these

gamesaredesignedandexperienced,andtheiradherenceto

theICO’sChildren’scodestandards”.Thegaming

sector

in

the

UK

shouldwatch

closelyandtake

note

ofany

practicaltakeaways.Children’sprivacyAgeAssuranceCasualgames

-

simple,

easy-to-pick-up

mobiletitles

designed

for

short

play

sessions-

have

become

one

ofthe

mostinfluential

segments

oftheglobalgames

industry.The

pastyear

has

seen

casualgamesgrow

more

complexwhileremaining

highly

accessible.

Downloads

have

stabilised

after

severalyears

ofdecline,

and

player

spending

has

continuedto

rise

-

reaching

$22

billion

in

2024

-

driven

by

more

engagingfeatures,

refined

LiveOps,and

smarter

monetisation.2

Continued

growthof

casualgaming8

Keytrends

ingames

2026DeeperprogressionsystemsraiseIPconsiderations:Hybrid-casualtitles

increasingly

rely

on

persistentworlds,

layered

progression,

and

continuous

content

updates.Games

such

as

Homescapes,

Fiona’s

Farm,

andTripleMatch

3D

show

how

extended

narrative

arcs

and

long-term

asset

development

drive

sustained

engagement.While

IP

management

istraditionally

central

inAAA

developmentandfar

less

critical

in

classic

casualgames(e.g.,

simple

card

or

puzzleformats),these

hybrid

models

shift

casualgames

closertoAAA-level

content

complexity.As

a

result,

IP

risks

resurface:allassets

must

be

rights-cleared,third-partycontent

must

be

properly

licensed,

and

evolving

content

pipelines

must

be

structuredto

avoid

infringement.Youthprotectionandgamblinglawremaintheprimary

regulatorytouchpoints:Casualgamesfrequently

operate

nearthe

boundary

ofgambling

regulation,

especiallywhen

using

real

money

staking

or

elements

ofchance

like

loot-box-typefeatures.

Manytitles

deliberately

emphasisepredominant

skill

elementstoavoid

classificationaslicensedgambling.These

mechanics,togetherwith

in-game

advertising,

also

raise

significantyouth-protection

concerns

(e.g.,

interaction

risks).Consumer-lawrequirementsextendtomonetisation,

LiveOps,andpersonalisation:Consumer

law

increasingly

shapes

monetisation

models,

includingtransparencyforin-app

purchases(and

issues

regardingvirtual

currenciesmore

broadly–

see

above),

pricing,

consent,

and

dark-pattern

prohibitions.

LiveOps—ongoing

events,

behavioural

incentives,and

dynamic

content

updatesthat

steer

userengagement

overtime—canfall

under

EU

and

UK

ruleson

unfair

commercial

practices,

particularlywheretheymaterially

influence

decision-making

or

affect

minors.Monetisation

is

also

shiftingfrom

intrusive

ads

andgenericIAPstowards

personalisedvalue

propositions

based

onindividual

engagement,

raising

additionaltransparencyandprofiling

considerations.“Consumerlawincreasingly

shapes

monetisationmodels,includingtransparency

forin-app

purchases”9

Keytrends

ingames

2026As

outlined

in

our

2025

horizon

scan,generative

artificialintelligence

ingaming

has

evolved

rapidly

overthe

pastyear.

This

development

has

ledtotwo

distincttechnological

paths:(i)

generativeAI

is

now

integraltogame-developmentworkflows,

and

(ii)

agenticAI

is

supercharginggamesthrough“l(fā)iving”NPCs

with

persistent

memoriesand

intelligent

backend

systemsthat

dynamically

adjust

difficulty

in

real-time.Newusesof

AIingaming10

Keytrends

ingames

2026CopyrightandIPprotection:whenAIgenerates

content,whether

during

development

or

in

real-time

duringgameplay,

questionsariseabout

ownership,the

lawful

useoftraining

datawhentraining/finetuning

own

models,andthe

risk

ofthird-party

infringement.The

requirementforhuman

authorship

under

UK,

EU

and

US

copyright

law

means

thatAI-generated

assets

mayfall

intothe

public

domain

ifinsufficient

creative

control

is

exercised.EUAIActcompliance:the

EUAIAct’s

risk-basedframework

requires

carefulassessment

ofin-game

mechanicsagainst

prohibited

practices(suchas

manipulativetechniquestargetingvulnerable

players)

and

high-risk

classifications

(such

as

emotion

recognition

systems).

Separately,

studios

using

General-PurposeAI

models

must

navigate

a

distinct

compliance

regimewith

obligations

aroundtechnicaldocumentation,

copyright

policies,

andtraining

datatransparency.Dataprotectionandplatformregulation:asAI

systems

process

unprecedentedvolumes

ofplayer

dataforpersonalisation

and

modeltraining,

compliancewith

GDPR

becomes

increasingly

important.

Meanwhile,gameswithAI-powered

user-generated

content

maytrigger

obligations

underthe

content

moderationframeworks

in

online

safety

legislation

such

as

UK

OSA

and

DSA.11

Keytrends

ingames

2026Asaresultof

thisrapidadvancement,thelegal

landscapehasbecomeincreasinglycomplex:Foracomprehensiveanalysisof

theseissuesandpractical

guidanceonnavigatingthisdevelopinglegallandscape.Seeourfullguidehere

Riseof

foreigninvestmentinChinaThe

introduction

oftwo

new

policies

istransforming

China,s

regulatorygaming

landscape,

creating

new

opportunitiesfor

foreign

investment

ingame

companies.12

Keytrends

ingames

2026Openingdoorsforforeigngamedevelopers

inShanghaiThe

Shanghai

Municipal

People’s

Government

has

issuedthe

“Measures

of

Shanghai

Municipality

for

Promotingthe

High-Quality

Development

of

the

Software

andInformationServicesIndustry”.

Underthis

new

policy,

games

developed

byforeign-funded

enterpriseswill

be

considered

domesticgames

as

developed

in

Shanghai.This

is

significant

asforeign-fundedgame

companies

face

substantial

difficultieswhen

obtaining

domestic

publication

numbers(ISBNs),whichare

prerequisites

for

legal

publication

and

operation

ofgames

in

China.Throughout

2024,

only

110

ofthe

1,416

newgameversion

numbers

issuedwereforforeigngames.

Bytreatingforeign-developedgames

in

Shanghai

as

domesticproducts,the

policy

reducesthe

difficulty

and

cost

ofobtaining

publication

numbers,

lowering

barrierstomarket

entryand

operational

costsfor

internationalgaming

companies.

Implementation

rules

are

expectedto

be

released

in

2026.Expandedmarketaccessthroughservice

sectorliberalisationCurrently,

nowhollyforeign-owned

or

majorityforeign-

controlledgameapp

stores

exist

inthe

Chinese

market,

withforeigngame

companiestypically

adoptingauthorised

partnership

models(suchasValveauthorising

PerfectWorldto

operate

Steam

in

China).InApril

2025,the

Ministry

ofCommerce

introducedthe“WorkPlan

for

AcceleratingComprehensivePilotProgrammestoExpandOpening-UpintheServiceSector”,which

came

intoforce

immediately

across

11pilot

cities(inclusive

of

Beijing

and

Shanghai)

andwillseekto

expandthe

scopeto

include

another

9

cities(inclusive

ofShenzhen).The

reforms

enhanceforeigngaming

companies’market

access,

particularly

regarding

telecommunicationsand

distribution

channels.TheMinistry

of

Industry

and

InformationTechnology

has

announcedthe

removal

offoreign

investment

equity

restrictions

on

internetaccess

services,

information

services(limitedtoapp

stores)

and

domesticVPNcompanies(with

aforeign

equity

cap

ofno

morethan

50%).Whilethe

liberalisation

is

now

in

effect,the

practical

impact

is

expectedto

materialise

inthe

comingyearsasforeign

enterprises

beginto

acquire

stakes

in

app

platforms,gaininggreater

control

over

distributionchannels,

reducing

channel

costs,

increasing

exposure

fortheirgames,and

ultimately

boostin