325. State of Gaming 2026: What’s Really Winning Now

Sam Aune from Sensor Tower breaks down the State of Gaming 2026 - from Battlefield 6 proving premium is far from dead, to why free-to-play is getting harder to break into, and how social indie games are driving viral success. In this episode, we go deep on mobile’s slowdown, strategy games dominating revenue, and how Chinese publishers are out-executing the West across both midcore and casual.CHAPTERS:00:00 Welcome and Report Setup00:43 State of Gaming Goes Beyond Mobile03:22 Trend One Battlefield Six Dominates05:05 Premium vs Free to Play Reality Check07:10 Hybrid Pricing and Live Ops Middle Ground09:01 Battlefield Six Marketing Playbook11:53 Indie Breakouts Repo and Peak12:31 Why Social Games Go Viral16:12 AAA Response and GTA Six Outlook18:08 Mobile Market Maturity and Consolidation20:37 Why Growth Stalls IDFA Saturation23:34 Strategy Genre Wins Worldwide26:41 Regional Genre Opportunities and New Hits28:00 Free Fire US Surge28:30 China Social Extraction28:52 Why China Wins31:47 Century Games Playbook34:23 How West Competes38:35 Indie Focus Advantage43:21 Web Store Incentives46:38 App Store Search Wars49:46 SEO Naming Strategy51:22 Report Wrap Up