What's next in 2026

FunPlus and the Gaming Industry in 2026

Exploring key strategies and predictions for the Gaming Industry and FunPlus in 2026

Hello everyone, and welcome back to our exclusive “Insiders Info” interview series, where we share with you unique insights into FunPlus, FunPlus People, and our World!

Continuing our conversation with Bob Slinn (VP Business Development at FunPlus) and our exploration of the gaming industry’s trends and challenges in Part I (What 2025 taught us).

This Part II delves into the strategic priorities and forward-thinking initiatives that will shape the company‘s trajectory in 2026

Would you like to know more about how FunPlus plans to navigate the evolving landscape of the gaming industry?

Let’s continue with our conversation!

From a Biz Dev standpoint, what strategic priorities will FunPlus focus on to continue its growth in the gaming industry?

Given the positive player reception for our IP integrations into State of Survival in recent years, we are continuing to explore opportunities to bring new, legendary characters and IP universes to the game in 2026.

With more new titles scheduled for release next year, the business development team will be ready to support the games teams to ensure that our platform partners are ready to provide best-in-class support at launch and beyond.

Upcoming titles such as Aniimo, an open-world ARPG, which we announced in June 2025, will see us bringing FunPlus games experiences to new platforms such as Xbox, with whom we partnered on the announcement.

This is part of our broader strategy to ensure that players everywhere can play their favourite FunPlus games on the broadest range of platforms and services possible.

How does FunPlus plan to enhance its business development strategies in 2026 to foster stronger partnerships and drive growth?

In 2026, we will continue to focus on building stronger, longer-term strategic partnerships with all of the key, relevant platforms from our longstanding mobile-first partners, Apple and Google, to newer (for FunPlus at least) platforms such as XBox and Steam.  

Our goal on the business development side is to act as the bridge between our game development teams and the platforms themselves. 

As the platforms continue to evolve and innovate with new features (e.g., Apple Games tab), we will ensure that our games teams have all of the relevant information to take advantage of new features and opportunities to unlock the maximum value possible for our games and our players. 

We also continue to meet with and assess new potential platform and technology partners to determine whether they might help further optimise our games and services. 

In terms of technological advancements, AI is the hot topic, and having recently attended the AI + Games conference, my viewpoint on what to expect in 2026 has evolved significantly.   

Previously, I had a vague notion that the next billion-dollar franchise might be created by a lone developer using the magic of AI.

However, I’m now more convinced that this is a long way off, given the reality that AI doesn’t replace the essential and missing magic ingredient of creativity that is required to make a game truly compelling.  

I do, however, believe that we will see a growing list of material enhancements to both gameplay and game development as more and more teams figure out how to leverage AI in new and practical ways.

Everything from richer, more realistic NPCs to lifelike dialogue for players to more efficient iteration and creative testing for game teams will come from AI’s ongoing evolution and integration. 

As the gaming industry continues to evolve, what innovations in payment systems do you anticipate will become more prevalent in 2026?

As mentioned above, the big changes in payments and in D2C services more broadly have largely been driven, or at least enabled, by regulatory changes resulting from government competition entities or legal challenges in the case of the US market.

It seems likely that more national or regional markets (e.g., Japan is planning changes in December 2025) will push the incumbent mobile platforms to give developers more freedom to build direct customer billing relationships.

As developers continue to build direct relationships with more customers, the quality of their D2C services will need to continue to improve both from a user experience but also from a value to the customer perspective as more or less invested (e.g., first-time payers) are exposed to D2C channels.

How do you expect the competitive landscape of the gaming industry to evolve in 2026, and what steps is FunPlus taking to stay ahead of competitors?

I expect the gaming industry to continue to evolve in 2026 along similar lines to the last couple of years, with a mix of mature, highly competitive market characteristics (consolidation, margin pressure, advantages of scale, and incumbents) alongside pockets of innovation in certain genres.

AI will be an accelerating force in 2026, but it seems unlikely to create industry-wide disruption given the structural limitations around the technology and LLMs today.

The opportunity to create truly cross-platform game experiences has arrived, and platforms are leaning in to support players’ desire to play their favourite games anywhere on any device.

Microsoft’s shift in their Xbox strategy to allow making their games and services playable on all devices, Google’s continued push on Google Play for PC, Steam’s new hardware, and Apple’s continued investment in making AAA-rich game play accessible on the Mac all underline this change.

And that’s a wrap on our conversation with Bob Slinn, VP of Business Development at FunPlus.

Thank you for joining us in this insightful conversation, and a special thank you to Bob for sharing his valuable insights and predictions, offering a business development perspective on the opportunities and challenges ahead.

We hope you’ve enjoyed it and learned more about FunPlus and the people behind it.

Until next time, keep having fun!

About FunPlus

FunPlus is one of the largest privately held companies in all of gaming. Founded in 2010, it is a global creator of interactive entertainment experiences powered by technology, with cross-platform game development and IP creation at its core.

FunPlus is an organization that fosters top industry talent, with around 2,000 team members based in offices and studios across three continents. These talented creative teams are well-known for developing hugely popular cross-platform titles, including:

• DC: Dark Legion,
• State of Survival,
• King of Avalon,
• Guns of Glory,
• Stormshot,
• Sea of Conquest,
• Misty Continent,
• Tiles Survive,
• Foundation: Galactic Frontier.

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• Spotify

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