São Paulo, May 1, 2025 – The investment landscape for game studios is undergoing a significant shift, and understanding the new market expectations is essential to ensuring the commercial viability of upcoming projects. This was the focus of a session led by Jason Della Rocca, co-founder of Execution Labs, during the gamescom latam 2025 programming.
According to Della Rocca, investment decisions are no longer driven solely by a game’s creative concept or technical potential. Today, investors and publishers seek tangible signs of traction—such as follower counts on social media, engagement in communities like Discord, and wishlist numbers on major platforms.
“Developers can’t just focus on making a game anymore—they need to start building a fan base early on. Publishers want to see that you’ve built an audience before they commit to investing,” he stated.
During the panel, Della Rocca also emphasized the importance of concept validation and competitive analysis as strategies to build traction and increase the impact of a game’s release.
“If you want to succeed, you need to find ways to adapt and captivate new audiences. The rules have changed: the market favors studios that show up with a player base rather than just a finished game without an audience,” he explained.
He concluded by reinforcing that a game’s commercial success starts long before launch—it requires strategic planning, active community engagement, and a data-driven approach to stand out in an increasingly competitive industry.
