"The biggest challenge is not closing the deal, but finding it": The state of the gaming investment market in 2025
In the past couple of years, the investment landscape in the gaming industry has changed significantly. We have gathered up-to-date information as of the end of 2025 on the nuances of fundraising at different stages, current multipliers, deal closing times, and "red flags" during due diligence. Experts from funds such as The Games Fund and GEM Capital assisted us in this.
Responding to our questions:
- Vasily Maguryan — CEO of "Gaming Holding" and one of the key investors in Zavod Games, former head of VK Play;
- Ilya Yeremeev — co-founder and managing partner at The Games Fund;
- Kirill and Roman Gursky — managing directors of the gaming division at GEM Capital*.
*GEM Capital's comments were initially obtained for an English-language piece on WN Hub
According to InvestGame, in the first three quarters, there were 426 deals made in the gaming industry, which is 21% less than the same period in 2024. The total amount exceeded $77 billion. However, excluding the unprecedented buyout of Electronic Arts (over $55 billion), the volume stands at about $21.5 billion. This represents a 46% annual growth.
Although the market has recovered from the post-COVID "hangover," the investment climate remains turbulent. This is especially true for new studios seeking funds for game development and scaling.
Vasily Maguryan
Investing has never been easy. To attract funding, you need to have a clear understanding of your project, be able to defend its concept, and present a well-prepared package of documents — from growth models to the team. Without this, your chances are minimal, regardless of the stage.
Ilya Yeremeev
It has become objectively and significantly more challenging compared to the anomalous years of 2021–2022 when there was a real gold rush, and nearly every game startup could attract funding on astronomical terms. If before you could secure investment just because you worked at a top company and had a great idea, now everyone wants to see much more tangible and confident signals — marketing tests, wishlists, etc.
Roman Gursky
The situation in the gaming industry can still be described as a buyer's market: capital is available, but it is distributed very selectively. The main investors remain industry players who have long worked with games and understand the market specifics well. Non-industry investors have largely shifted to other, more "hyped" areas over the past couple of years — primarily AI.
Nowadays, it's rare to see investors competing with each other for deals. On the contrary, there's an increasing tendency to syndicate rounds and bring in multiple investors to mitigate risks. Founders also share this logic — having several financial partners provides more stability and confidence in the long term.
In the following sections, we will discuss:
- the amounts game companies can expect to secure at different stages (pre-seed, seed, Series A, and later);
- current multipliers in M&A deals;
- red flags during due diligence: main risks for companies and investors;
- deal structures and what portion of the total amount might be tied to earn-out payments;
- realistic timelines for closing deals in the gaming industry by the end of 2025.
