Last week, in Part 1, we (somewhat intentionally) left you with a little cliff-hanger.  If you are back, you have our viewpoints on the impressions of 2025 that we were left with from our clients, transactions, conferences, content sources and peers.  To recap Part 1, our over-riding theme for 2025 was “De-risking becomes doctrine.”  The ever-present sentiment to de-risk a deal or partnership “powered up” in a big way in 2025 taking risk re-allocation or risk phobia to new heights.  But all is not doom and gloom forever, is it?  Are there ANY pathways to success?  

We think so.  The elements are there.  We can’t say whether that’s in a particular genre or business model.  But reading the tea leaves, the IE Law Group team does see a hopeful future for 2026 and beyond. 

Champions and New Paths to Growth

It is important to start with this:  Game revenue rose slightly in 2025.  And it is projected to grow again in 2026.    

Many of publishers now have gaps in their release schedules from cancelled projects or smaller portfolios.  And there’s still a lot of quality content out there to believe in!

As a result, the last eighteen months saw about a dozen new publishers enter the market.  Many of them are small (for now).  But they see the potential and the content that is out there!   We have worked with or opposite many of these new publishers.  Their vision is that fun games don’t have to be AAA to be successful.  If they have the capital to fund some of the available content, they are part of the solution!  But that’s a big “if.”

Behind the scenes, a few of our tools and tech clients are offering innovative solutions to making better games, enabling game creators to do what they do best in a more efficient way.  Again,  streamlined line of sight to fun games.   Some of these companies are even finding investment opportunities to bring their offerings more visibility!

The idea of good and fun content always having a path to success is equally prevalent in brands and licensed games!  We have seen a new approach to licensed properties in games.  As we discussed at this year’s American Film Market, licensed games are allowing more innovative and open-minded story-telling than in years past.   In some cases, it goes even farther, as brands and products not normally associated with games are looking at the success of Monopoly Go! and trying to find a similar path. 

Opportunity begets innovation.  These are some of the common traits we saw across our client base in 2025.      

Here are a few more specific examples of IE Law Group clients that cut against the grain and found success in 2025 (in no particular order):

Akupara Games ~ This small but mighty publishing team doesn’t run away from games that are too creative and “out there.”  In fact, they embrace the quirky.  Combining that with tailored production support and a GREAT job building a customer community.  Cryptmaster and other similar titles focus on the fun!   

Night Street Games ~ The team bet on themselves in a significant way.  The trailer for Last Flag (a 70’s inspired Mod Squad/funky capture the flag game) is just simply fun.  Goes back to the tried and true adage about content being king.  First and foremost, make something fun!  Behind the scenes, the team is decisive in an indecisive environment and has forged some cohesive and great partnerships, not to cut corners but to make a great game that improve their chances for success!   Their approach is refreshing!

Void Interactive ~ Another team that bet on themselves.  Doubling down on taking their ultra-realistic tactical shooter, Ready or Not,  to consoles was the right decision.  And doing that in combination an uncompromising belief in their content, no matter how potentially controversial!  Along the way, they created a strong and loyal community!  We are excited for what’s next for them.  

Vivrato ~ Moving away from development and publishing over to the consultancy side, Adam Boyes and the Vivrato team cut against the grain by unifying groups of people to solve complicated problems.  They did this in an innovative way:  They asked what our challenges are….and they asked EVERYBODY…in innovative ways.  Whether it was the Vivrato deck of cards or pancake breakfasts, Vivrato didn’t have a pre-conceived notion of the problem to solve or a solution.  They got a 360 perspective.  Along the way, Adam built a new school consultancy for the industry that I believe will be an agent of change. 

Double Black Capital ~ As I mentioned earlier, finding deals in this environment in 2025 has been challenging for everyone, and nowhere more so than for investment bankers.  But the team at Double Black doesn’t see the same world as everyone else.  They have been able to find lucrative deals for their clients in a dark environment.  They take a very bespoke approach to deal crafting.  Knowing some of the challenges that are out there, they have been able to structure around that and show all parties an outside the box approach that makes things possible and produces results!   Their deals on behalf of their clients are up 250% year over year.  In this environment.  Read that again! 

These companies do not represent a complete list of successes within our client base or the industry as a whole!  They are simply some of the ones that stood out to us this year and they should be commended!   Each situation and company approach is different.  They provide some lessons on how to navigate the industry’s treacherous waters but sadly not a concrete roadmap. 

2026 Outlook

If you’re still reading this, you have our perspectives on the challenges that created industry headwinds in 2025.  You also have our opinion (worth whatever you would like to attribute to it) about the potential paths out of the deep dive.  And finally, you have some specific client examples of success which should be lauded in a seemingly hopeless year. 

But now what?  As “Survive til ‘25” became “Survive THROUGH ‘25,“ are we doomed to  “Persist through ’26”?  What can we expect?

It’s hard to say with any certainty of course.  At IE Law Group, we are not as doom and gloom as some, but at the same time, we are lawyers!  Optimism does not run in our blood blindly. 

With that in mind, here are a few things we think we think for the upcoming year.  

  • Continued layoffs ~ Sadly, we should be prepared for more employment reductions on the horizon.   EA may be one of the more notable culprits with private equity taking control and large debt to be serviced, although changes there may be slower than generally expected and not occur until 2027.
  • Small publishers ~ Although we LOVE all of the new publishers established in 2025, it’s hard to imagine all of them surviving in their current form.  Some are likely to consolidate and grow.  Others may not have enough funding to place enough bets and might fade away.
  • Regional markets ~ Driven by forward-thinking government agencies, a few geographic markets will begin to deliver nascent dev studio ecosystems.  We are a bit biased here based on our investment in markets such as Colombia, Ireland and Chile.  But there are others worth keeping an eye on too!
  • Back-catalog ~  Remasters and revivals of old, good content will be brought to market.  Not as successful as “Oblivion Remastered,” but again….content is king, even vintage content.
  • EA ~ We certainly are not alone in anticipating asset divestitures resulting from the EA acquisition.  This is not a bad thing.  In addition to unlocking deal flow, it will allow others to take a chance with EA properties that are being shelved or under-utilized.  That likely won’t occur in the first half of 2026, but could be something we see in Q4.
  • The battle for WB ~ The competing takeover bids for WB (Netflix and Skydance if you have been living under a rock) distracts three major “buyers” from churning small and medium sized deal flow until resolved.  This may unfortunately keep the mid-market deals more stagnant until the situation is resolved.  Even more unfortunate, following resolution on the ultimate WB buyer, there is likely going to be a longer tail of assessment and integration where deals are non-existent (or VERY slow to materialize).
  • “R-iii-se” of the independent studios ~ We have long been believers and supporters of the indie studios.  With some of the self-publishing tools and partnerships improving, expect to see some great things coming from the smaller studios.
  • Start-ups (generally) ~ Some of the “splash damage” from the wide-spread layoffs in 2025 may cause a short term “glut” on some new service providers trying to stand on their feet.  But a few gems will really rise from these ashes!  Whether that is content, advisory/service providers, payment systems, technology or some other TBD companies, all will help re-build the ecosystem.
  • Revenue up ~ 2025 revenue was slow, but up slightly.  We expect more of the same in 2026.   We are not unique in this perspective.  We’re not dead yet.  This sets the foundation for the next growth cycle.
  • Private Equity ~ Yes, PE firms are allegedly giving more attention and love to the games industry than in years past.  But, at this scale, interest does not equal imminent deals!  Non-traditional entities that don’t inherently “get” games will tend to move slower than hopes and expectations.  Silverlake, CVC, Havelli and a few others will be active and opportunistic.  But, any PE deals outside of the usual suspects are not likely to take shape quick enough to bolster 2026.  They will use this time to wrap their heads around our business first.

IE Law Group’s Goals for 2026

IE Law Group’s goals for 2026? Simple. We will continue to help our clients in every way possible to make great content across all platforms. That has never wavered. We take pride not just in our counsel and wisdom but in our proactive approach.  Helping our clients find opportunity and keeping our ear to the ground on where the industry is headed is added value that we bring to the table.

Equally important to us is our role in championing, educating, and promoting the games industry always, but particularly now as we emerge from this down cycle and onto brighter days.

In 2026, we will strive to bring you more regular updates, insights and teachable content in a way that goes beyond our quarterly newsletters.  Stay tuned.

Do we have any specifics that we will be doing more of or areas we will focus on in 2026?  YES.  Expect to hear more about how we expand our focus and offerings.  But ultimately, we follow your lead and the trends of the industry. 

In short, we go where our clients are, where they are going and most importantly, where they want us to be.

Endnote…not “End of Days”

2025 demanded discipline and endurance. IE Law Group enters 2026 confident that the hardest adjustments are behind us and that opportunity favors those who stayed adaptable when the industry needed it most.

We will continue to stand beside our clients, not only as legal advisors but as partners in vision, helping them to build whatever comes next.