The gaming industry is undergoing an unprecedented period of change - and María Sayans, CEO of the world’s first B-Corp game studio ustwo games, is leaning into the change with intentional focus, transparency, and a resolute belief in underserved audiences. For indie studios, the industry changes present opportunities for new kinds of games, new communities and new business models.

Peak gaming—or the next chapter for smaller studios?

María’s reflections did not shy away from the uncomfortable question: have we hit “peak gaming”? While some large-scale models feel saturated and in need of radical reinvention, she sees a very different trajectory for nimble teams who can target underserved audiences and ship purposefully scoped projects. In particular, she reflected on shifting focus away from developing for mobile and more into PC and console, as a way of facilitating a deeper relationship with players. She also noted that while in the past women mobile gamers over the age of 40 was considered the fastest-growing gaming demographic, women have continued to game and are increasingly playing on PC and console. While she considered that mobile subscription platforms continue to have their place in the gaming ecosystem, PC and console gaming is a more welcoming space to develop premium game experiences and provides a greater opportunity for developers to build relationships with their community.

Culture as a competitive advantage: transparency, trust, and time together

The culture at ustwo is deliberately collaborative, and María discussing the studio’s challenge of walking a tightrope between being more cost-conscious, faster and more decisive while also being creative. She argued that the only way to navigate that challenge is to be transparent with the team about decision making and the balance that the studio is making. That means consistent transparency, including weekly all-hands where the team discusses project status, what worked and what didn’t, and even profit margins and partner conversations. Not everything can be shared, but the default is openness - anchored in the company’s B-Corp mission to create playful and positive game experiences with positive impact on players and society.

María also challenged the orthodoxy that fully distributed creative teams can match co-located teams when you’re taking artistic risks. In her view, in-person time builds trust at an unspoken level, enabling hard conversations and braver choices - so the studio orchestrates regular in-studio days and creative sprints to strengthen that fabric.

Policy and funding creativity 

In reflecting on the video game policy landscape and the progress that UKIE has made in recent years, María argued that in the interest of government and the broader economy to have more dedicated support for mid-sized companies and projects. She noted that as a small studio ustwo had been huge value creators, employing quite a lot of people. Traditionally however there has been funding for really tiny projects, and tax breaks for larger companies that were already operating and had launched games, leaving a fragile middle under-served. This is a particular priority, as it will be those mid-sized studios creating new IPs and delivering growth in the UK economy.

“When you're taking creative risks and you want people to trust each other, and be willing to take those creative risks, you need to know each other well”.