Sam Mamedov

When a new game studio enters the market today, what are the real challenges in the first 6–12 months — distribution, visibility, or proving value beyond “another slot release”?

When you have GGR-driven games with top assets and animations, a full package of promo tools, a sharable marketing strategy, and a variety of games for different categories and holiday-ready games — as well as visibility and your own “signature in games” — it is not that hard to be approved by a future partner. There is another problem. The biggest early challenge now is that operators and aggregators often push new providers toward the lowest possible revenue share.

5 years ago it was 7–9%. 3 years ago it was 6–7%. 2 years ago it was 5%.

Nowadays many operators push you to 3–4%, which drags down the market average. It stops being a competition of product quality, promo mechanics, or long-term value. It becomes a race to the lowest price.

That is unhealthy for the industry, in my opinion. The second challenge is saturation. Every day, new providers enter the market.

Compared to 2–3 years ago, it is significantly easier to build and launch a product. The barrier to entry has dropped — but the barrier to survival has not. The third challenge is overloaded integration pipelines.

You can bring a strong commercial proposal, solid metrics, and a clear USP, but operators and aggregators already have queues of integrations. At that point, you are not just selling a game — you are fighting for priority. So in reality, it is a mix of distribution access, commercial pressure, and timing.

Proving value matters, but getting the chance to prove it is the first battle. Key idea: In today’s market, access often matters before performance.

How do you personally see the role of affiliates and media buying at the early stage of a studio’s growth: as a validation channel, a scaling tool, or a long-term strategic partnership?

The idea of providers working directly with media buyers, without relying entirely on operators, is extremely powerful. It opens a new model of collaboration and gives studios more control over traffic strategy and player acquisition. It reduces dependency and creates space for experimentation.

Personally, I did not have direct experience with this model before, as the companies I worked with did not see it as a priority investment at that stage. That is why I value being part of a brand that is now developing this type of partnership. It reflects a more forward-looking approach to distribution and growth.Key idea: Direct media partnerships may become an alternative distribution layer for providers.

Everyone thinks their studio is “different”. In reality, most aren’t. From your perspective, what truly separates studios that survive from those that quietly disappear?

It is absolutely true. Many studios genuinely believe their game will become Top 1 simply because the design looks impressive. Two years later, the brand disappears.

The difference is perspective. Product is the heart of a game studio. But without strong promotional tools, strategy, and hard account management, that heart cannot perform.

Without reliable technology and optimisation, the entire system struggles. Studios that survive understand that success is structural. It is not only about creativity.

It is about: • Scalable and optimised technology • A full set of promotional tools • A trained and prepared account team even before sales begin • Commercial discipline, not unrealistic expectations • Special collaborations • And, of course, media presence In our brand we have custom optimisation technology that adjusts assets by learning the player’s device model and adjusts by average geo internet connection speed. It is not just a technical detail. It directly affects session start speed, player experience, and ultimately retention.

We use custom technology to implement edits without bothering developers: a custom sound system, custom antifraud tech, and a variety of other perks. That was built before we even started creating games. Studios that disappear usually focus only on the front end and luck.

Studios that survive build the entire ecosystem behind it. We have a roadmap of games until the end of 2026 – Q2 2027 and a marketing plan to promote them. Key idea: Studios that survive build infrastructure, not just games.

Final signal The barrier to building games is falling. The barrier to building a sustainable studio is not.