Conference Presentation, Panel
Powering Play: Leaders Defining the New Age of Gaming | Global Conference 2025
Milken InstituteAndrea Rene, Drue Kataoka, Michael Metzger, Gregory Milken, Sean Shoptaw, Anna Sweet, Amanda Han, Kate Leahy, Carrie Nordlund, Michael Minazieri, Tamara Shapiro Ledley, Gregory Rubinstein
- The industry is characterized as a fast-moving, evolving sector where "everyone's a gamer," extending beyond traditional arcade cabinets and games like Super Mario Brothers to a broader definition.
- The M&A rebound is expected to continue gradually, driven by public companies seeking growth, new IP access, and strategic shifts by firms like AppLovin, Aristocrat, and Embracer.
- Consolidation cycles are anticipated to reverse eventually, with companies previously acquired by Embracer seeking independence, while new large tech players such as Netflix are expected to consistently enter the gaming space.
- A "dawn of a new era" driven by visual AI technology is predicted to affect small players using tools like Unreal MetaHuman or Unity Muse to take creative risks, and large players building capital-intensive projects supercharged with AI.
- Bad Robot Games intends to continue building original IP from the ground up to learn cross-medium workflows, with the goal of becoming better at working with classic IPs in the future.
- Disney plans to leverage its relationship with Epic Games to create converged experiences in ecosystems like Fortnite, layering linear content, social expressions, and user-generated content on foundational game experiences.
- The use of Unreal Engine is expected to allow Disney to apply content across theme parks, film, TV, and games within a shared environment rather than managing disparate parts.
- A two-path approach mixing original and licensed IP is predicted to become a successful strategy for acquiring users and leveraging brand spending as acquiring new mobile users independently becomes increasingly difficult.
- A reckoning is predicted for companies that have over-invested and spent without achieving necessary success or building enough runway for community building and viral growth.
- Most strategic acquisitions are expected to have specific strategic reasons, such as Asian buyers seeking Western IP or diversifying into casual mobile games, rather than being purely P&L driven like the Embracer model.
- Transmedia projects are expected to succeed only when creators in other mediums are clear fans of the source material with deep reverence for the IP, rather than treating it merely as a marketing tool.
- Disney expects to empower creators like Todd Howard to tell original stories based on their passion for the IP, viewing this as the sweet spot for successful collaborations rather than dictating stories.
- Visual AI tools are expected to be extraordinary in transforming visionary leadership by allowing leaders to articulate directions clearly, incorporate feedback quickly, and delegate with absolute clarity.
- A blurring between player and developer is anticipated, creating a robust participatory economy where AI democratizes world building in a manner comparable to how Shopify democratized storefronts.
- Teams are expected to hire fewer people to accomplish the same tasks due to AI, with development pace increasing from months to one month while milestones remain the same, though output growth is uncertain.
- There is currently no clear answer on how AI efficiency impacts financial planning, as investors must balance efficiency gains with focus while navigating a rapidly changing landscape of AI tools with no established stability.
- The emergence of the "one-person AI unicorn" is predicted, with the era of a one-person, full-stack developer creating a $100 million gaming franchise considered not that far away.
- The future of gaming is expected to involve linear entertainment being completely subsumed by gaming, resulting in a 100% immersed future where users can jump into and change the world of a reel.
- By 2030, the biggest IP globally across all media is predicted to have originated as a game.
- By 2030, major media or non-traditional companies are expected to choose their CEOs specifically based on gaming expertise and experience.
- AI is predicted to be the new technology that finally meets the moment in the gaming industry, surpassing previous innovations in the last 10 years.
- By 2030, the industry is expected to see a billion-dollar IP created by a team of five people or less due to the democratization of world creation through "vibe coding."
- Building a new platform to the scale of Fortnite is expected to be achievable in seven to ten years, but achieving this in two to three years is not seen as feasible due to the time required to build a community.
- The creative community is expected to eventually gain leverage over AI platforms because engines are voracious for new, high-quality content, leading to inevitable litigation, royalties, and licensing.