What’s next for the games industry?

Anyone working in the games industry knows 2025 has been a turbulent year. But even in these uncertain times there are sparks of hope and opportunities. Chairing a panel of experts at a ‘The Next Level: Shaping Tomorrows Today’ event at BAFTA, Outside Xbox editor Jane Douglas delved into some of these opportunities as well as AI and the cultural significance of games. Here’s what panellists Alyx Jones – Founder of Silver Script Games, BAFTA Games Committee member and 2022 BAFTA Breakthrough, Dominic Murphy – Ukie’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, and Marina Mello – BBC Studios’ Global Director of Gaming and Interactive had to say…

When it comes to opportunities the panel had a few ideas for finding gaps to grow in. For example, Jones points to the fact that AAA companies “aren’t taking any risks and [so] we as small developers can fill that space and potentially have more of an opportunity to reach players doing that.”

She says it’s a chance to “make those games that wouldn’t get made otherwise… To be able to see different people’s experiences represented in that. Kids today are growing up probably using games as their main medium, they’re not watching as much tv as we did growing up, they’re playing games and that’s their view of the world. It is being shaped through the games that they play so I’m excited that that’s a bit more of a broader experience for them.”

And Murphy also highlights there may be new spaces for start-ups and smaller studios to fill. He says: “out of some of the uncertainty there’s quite a lot of new start up studios starting as well… so some positivity, some green shoots.”

Mello meanwhile thinks there is an opportunity to be had in family gaming, sharing she herself plays games with her young child. She says: “[There are] some promising stats around the number of people wanting to play with their kids and actively seeking experiences to play together. I see this growing demand as a huge opportunity.

“I don’t think there are enough games in that space. Games have the potential to take over that moment we used to have, that cultural touchpoint, with our families way back when, around the TV.”

AI has been something that everyone has been trying to get their heads around for some time, with continuing debate about if and how the screen industries may use it going forward. Mello posits that it could be an “incredible tooling” device, Murphy is focused on the legislative issues that still need to be worked out, whilst Jones states: “I wouldn’t use it in any part of the creative process”.

Mello says: “From an early iteration perspective, and in terms of prototyping, I think there is something interesting there. When you’re on paper it’s incredibly difficult to communicate the vision, so this can be useful for indies talking to larger IP holders… AI can help mock up a concept, facilitate a visualisation or some sort of representation of that experience. I think that’s really powerful and could unlock opportunities for indies…

“We’re still finding our way, but I think it’s dangerous to write it off as ‘bad’. There are so many areas in which it can super charge creativity.”

Murphy thinks we should be focusing on gaining more of “a legal certainty” around how to use it and who owns it. He says: “Because people are experimenting all the time, or they’re unsure of how to use it, and actually what comes out the other side whether they might be infringing or who owns that copyright. But also [we need to consider] how artists and others are compensated for their work properly and their work is protected and that’s still ongoing.”

And for Jones its most important that whatever happens we ensure we protect creativity. She says: “It seems counterintuitive to creativity in general and I’ve not really found any use for it. It’s good to be aware of what’s going on and to try things and as a tool for things like maybe brainstorming things or what layout should I have my pitch deck using it as a better search engine its fairly useful for that. I don’t use it for generating art, I won’t use it on the voice assets nothing like that. There’s no benefit to me to do that and I value my creatives so I wouldn’t ever want them to feel like that’s a replacement.

“I don’t think it’s going to improve anything in the content that we’re putting out and we’re not representing human stories anymore, we’re representing what already exists… if we want to make culturally significant creative products there’s no real place for it for me.”

One thing that is particularly exciting though is the consensus around games’ growing cultural footprint.

Jones says: “We need to look at what unites everybody, because these are humans living different lives and different cultural experiences… If we were all focusing on more empathy, more education and connecting as humans – which games are the perfect platform for – that’s what the industry is and that’s where the power is.”

Similarly, Mello describes how games are increasingly being seen as “a real cultural powerhouse”. Adding: “We’re not just inputting into culture but driving it forward… I think games have never been more powerful, or played a bigger role in shaping culture.”

And Murphy points to how the current government and policy makers “seem to like games”- an advantage for the sector. He says: “There’s been a really long run up to this point and now we have the most pro games parliament we’ve ever had. We’ve got a whole new generation of MPs who are growing up with games [and] still play games whenever they can. They are interested and receptive to the stories, to the games that are made, to the processes in multiple different ways not just economic but cultural and social …

“There is a door that we just need to barge through at any opportunity possible to talk about why we are so significant and continue to be and can be even more so in future.”

If you’re interested in Games make sure to keep an eye on our website. Next week we will be announcing the 2026 BAFTA Games Awards longlist.