DEVOTED STUDIOS BLOG

What “Porting Experience” Actually Means — and How to Test It

Every studio claims porting experience. The question is what kind, on what platforms, and at what scale.

There are three tiers of porting complexity that separate studios who can handle the work from studios who’ve only handled part of it.

Tier 1 — Single-platform ports. A studio ports one version of a game to one new platform. This is the most common engagement, and the most common place where experience claims get inflated. Porting an indie Unity title to Nintendo Switch is real work — but it doesn’t prepare a team for simultaneous multi-platform certification on a 60-hour Unreal Engine RPG.

Tier 2 — Multi-platform simultaneous porting. This requires parallel team management, platform-specific build pipelines, and the ability to handle divergent certification feedback from multiple first parties at the same time. Studios that have done this repeatedly operate differently — their pipelines are built for it.

Tier 3 — Porting with co-development scope. Some ports require more than adaptation. When a game ships on a new platform with new DLC, expanded content, or UI rebuilt from scratch, the porting studio needs co-development capability alongside pure porting expertise. Very few studios operate at this level cleanly.

When evaluating a porting partner, ask them directly: which tier describes the majority of their work? What was the largest simultaneous platform scope they’ve managed? What was their first-submission certification rate?

Devoted Studios ported Risk of Rain 2 (Gearbox Software) to 5 platforms simultaneously — Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation — achieving first-submission certification across all platforms while handling network integration, rendering optimization, and DLC support in parallel. That’s Tier 2 operating at full scale.

The Certification Question Nobody Asks Early Enough

Platform certification — TRC for Nintendo, TCR for Microsoft, TRC for Sony — is where ports live or die. A failed certification submission adds weeks to a launch window, compresses marketing timelines, and creates downstream problems for digital storefronts already scheduled around your release date.

First-submission certification pass rates are one of the most meaningful metrics a porting studio can give you. It reflects how well they understand platform requirements before they submit, how thoroughly their QA process catches platform-specific issues, and how experienced their team is with the specific hardware they’re targeting.

Studios that routinely require two or three submission rounds aren’t necessarily bad — but they’re building that rework time into your schedule whether you know it or not.

What to ask:

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  What is your first-submission pass rate by platform over the last 12 months?
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  How do you handle certification feedback when submissions fail?
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  Do you have relationships with first-party developer relations teams?
• 
  Can you share examples of certification documentation from previous projects?
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  A studio that can’t answer these questions specifically hasn’t done enough certification work to give you confidence. A studio that answers them with named titles and documented outcomes has.

Engine Expertise Is Not the Same as Porting Expertise

A studio that builds games in Unreal Engine is not automatically qualified to port an Unreal Engine game to Nintendo Switch. The skills overlap — but porting requires a specific layer of platform-side knowledge that pure development work doesn’t always build.

For Unreal Engine ports specifically: memory management on Switch requires aggressive optimization work that differs substantially from PC or console development. Draw call budgets, texture streaming, shader compilation — each platform has its own ceiling, and hitting those ceilings late in production creates crunch.

For Unity ports: the engine’s cross-platform tooling helps, but platform-specific rendering paths, input system overhauls, and store integration requirements (Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Network, Xbox Game Pass) all require hands-on experience with each certification environment.

What to check:

Ask the studio which version of Unreal or Unity the game you’re working on uses, then ask them how many titles they’ve shipped on that version for your target platforms. Not “we know Unreal Engine” — how many shipped titles, which platforms, which versions.

Devoted Studios has shipped porting engagements across both Unreal Engine and Unity at production scale — including Risk of Rain 2 (Unity, 5 platforms), FNAF: Secret of the Mimic (Unreal Engine, PS/Xbox/Switch/PC), FNAF: Security Breach (Unreal Engine, Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox), and Open Roads (Unity, Switch with 30fps optimization and scene dressing). Each engagement required platform-specific expertise, not just engine familiarity.

Parallel Porting vs. Sequential — Why the Difference Costs You Money

Most studios default to sequential porting: finish the PC version, then port to PS5, then Xbox, then Switch. This approach feels safer but creates a compounding timeline problem.

Each sequential port starts a new certification clock. Marketing plans built around a single launch window get stretched. The team managing platform feedback has to context-switch between build states. If Switch certification fails, it pushes back a release that PS5 and Xbox are already ready for.

Parallel porting — working on all target platforms simultaneously — requires more coordination upfront but produces a single certification window, a single launch date, and a single marketing moment. It’s faster, cheaper over the full production cycle, and lower risk for the launch itself.

The requirement is a porting studio with the team depth and pipeline infrastructure to run parallel builds without quality degradation. That’s not every studio.

Devoted Studios managed simultaneous 5-platform porting for Risk of Rain 2 — all platforms in parallel, all certifications submitted within the same window, first-submission pass across the board.

“Devoted has been an absolute force multiplier for our development needs. On top of being generally great people to work with, they’re communicative, transparent, and always deliver on their commitments. Devoted cares about the quality of what’s being shipped just as much as we do which has led to a deep trust on our side.”

— Ray McCaffrey, Chief Development Officer, Steel Wool Studios

The Studios Worth Knowing in 2026

The porting market has specialists worth considering across different project types and scopes. Here’s an honest breakdown of where different studios play best.

Devoted Studios (US) handles game porting across Unreal Engine and Unity with first-submission certification track record and simultaneous multi-platform delivery. Credits include Risk of Rain 2 (5 platforms, first-submission cert), FNAF: Secret of the Mimic, FNAF: Security Breach, FNAF: Help Wanted 2 (VR porting — Meta Quest to Pico Neo 3 and Pico 4), Sunderfolk, and Open Roads. Best for: multi-platform simultaneous ports, Unreal and Unity titles, projects that also need co-development or DLC support alongside porting.

Iron Galaxy Studios (US) is known for console porting and live operations, with credits including Killer Instinct and Doom Eternal. Best for: complex AAA console ports where performance and gameplay preservation under hardware constraints is the primary concern.

Abstraction Games (Netherlands) has a long track record on multiplatform ports including Hotline Miami and ports for major publishers. Best for: studios looking for European timezone alignment with established porting pipeline experience.

Tantalus Media (Australia) specializes in Nintendo ports and remasters, including work on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. Best for: Nintendo-first porting projects or remasters targeting the Switch ecosystem.

Snapbreak / independent boutique porting studios — Smaller studios with niche platform specialization. Best for: indie titles with simpler scopes where a focused single-platform team is more cost-effective than a full multi-platform operation.

Six Questions to Ask Before You Sign

The conversation before a contract tells you more about a porting studio than their portfolio page. Here are the questions that reveal the most.

1. Can you name your last three porting projects, the platforms, and your certification outcome? Any studio with real porting experience can answer this in 30 seconds. Vague answers here are a signal.

2. What’s your process when a certification submission fails? Failure happens. What matters is whether the studio has a documented escalation process, dedicated platform relations contacts, and a resubmission workflow that doesn’t require starting from scratch.

3. How do you handle scope changes mid-porting? Porting scopes shift — new DLC gets added, platform requirements update, the source build changes. How a studio handles that reveals whether they operate as a true production partner or a task-fulfillment shop.

4. What does your QA process look like specifically for platform certification prep? Pre-cert QA for console platforms is a distinct discipline. Ask specifically, not generally.

5. Can you support post-launch DLC porting and live updates? Many porting engagements don’t end at launch. Studios that can stay embedded through the live service period are significantly more valuable than studios that hand off at gold.

6. What’s your communication cadence during active porting work? Weekly build reports, milestone reviews, daily standups during cert — ask what’s standard, what’s available, and what they’d recommend for your project scope.

Why Porting Timing Matters More Than Porting Budget

The single most expensive porting decision isn’t the studio you choose — it’s when you bring them in.

Studios that engage a porting partner after content lock are starting a process that could have been running in parallel for months. The porting team has to audit a finished build, identify platform-specific problems that were baked in during development, and rework systems that were never designed with console constraints in mind.

The cleaner approach: bring your porting partner in during late production, before content lock. They can flag platform-specific issues in real time, advise on memory budgets and draw call limits while there’s still room to fix them, and begin platform-specific build work before the source version is final.

This is especially true for Switch 2 and PS5 ports, where the gap between PC development defaults and console performance requirements can be significant — and where catching problems at the source saves weeks at certification.

Devoted Studios’ porting team can engage at any production stage — but the most efficient engagements are the ones that start before the source game is locked. Talk to the porting team early.

“We definitely had an enjoyable time working with Devoted. Their team is very professional, quick, and detailed with their work on the project. We appreciated it during our porting process from Quest to Neo 3, Pico 4, and our upcoming headset.”

— Justin Molyneaux, Director of Pico XR Dev Relations and Partnerships, ByteDance

The Right Partner Ships Once

Porting is one of the highest-leverage decisions in a game’s commercial life. A title that ships on three platforms instead of one reaches a fundamentally different audience. A port that achieves first-submission certification ships on the planned date. A port handled by a team with real platform experience doesn’t create the six-week delay that kills a launch window.

The studios worth working with in 2026 have named titles, documented certification outcomes, and teams built for the specific complexity of your project. The ones that don’t are cheaper upfront and more expensive before it’s over.

If you’re evaluating porting partners for an upcoming Unreal Engine or Unity title — across Switch 2, PS5, Xbox, or PC — Devoted Studios’ porting team works across simultaneous multi-platform delivery, first-submission certification, and post-launch DLC support.

Co-create with Devoted →

4 Years, 2 Obsidian Games, 0 Missed Milestones

Devoted Studios is a US-headquartered game development and art production partner with 250+ core team members across 15+ countries. Founded in 2018, the studio has shipped 250+ projects across co-development, porting, engineering, and end-to-end art production.

The leadership team brings direct AAA experience into every engagement. Studio Art Director Ryan Lastimosa is a Respawn Entertainment veteran — Apex Legends, Titanfall, Call of Duty 4. Executive Creative Director Jason Millena has credits on Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall, Jurassic World: Primal Ops, The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, and RuneScape. CTO Flavius Alecu brings a technical background spanning Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA V, and PS5 platform work.

Selected co-development credits:

“Devoted has been an absolute force multiplier for our development needs. They’re communicative, transparent, and always deliver on their commitments. Devoted cares about the quality of what’s being shipped just as much as we do – which has led to a deep trust on our side.”

— Ray McCaffrey, Chief Development Officer, Steel Wool Studios

Devoted Studios is best suited for studios that need a long-term embedded partner — one that owns milestones, integrates into existing pipelines, and scales across disciplines without requiring constant direction.

→ See co-development services

The Studios That Own a Lane — and Stay In It

Not every project needs a full-service co-dev partner. Some productions need a specialist in a narrow, high-stakes discipline. The studios below have carved out credible positions in specific service areas — and deliver well within those lanes.

Blind Squirrel Games (US) focuses on AAA co-development, remasters, and live service support. Credits include Bioshock: The Collection and Borderlands 3 expansion work. Strong fit for remaster projects or studios that need embedded engineering support with North American time zone alignment.

Iron Galaxy Studios (US) specializes in game porting and live operations, with credits on Killer Instinct and Doom Eternal. Well-suited for studios handling platform certification complexity or needing a porting team with deep console expertise.

Lemon Sky Studios (Malaysia) delivers high-end 3D game art with credits on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Street Fighter 6. A strong choice for art production volume — environments, characters, cinematic assets — where visual fidelity is the primary requirement.

Moonmana (Europe/Ukraine) handles full-cycle development and has experience on both the production and publishing side of game development. Their dual background gives them practical insight into live game lifecycles. Best for mid-sized projects needing development continuity through post-launch.

iLogos Game Studios (Europe) focuses on mobile co-development, porting, and live service support. A reliable option for studios extending a title to mobile or maintaining content cadence on existing live games.

What “Co-Development” Actually Means — and What It Doesn’t

The term gets used to describe everything from a 5-person art task team to a 100-person embedded production unit. That ambiguity creates real problems during scoping — and during production.

Genuine co-development means the external team shares ownership of the outcome, not just the workload. They attend milestone reviews. They flag risks before they become delays. They understand the game’s production context well enough to make decisions without being managed at the task level.

What it isn’t: a body shop with a co-dev label. Studios that operate in pure output mode — receive brief, deliver asset, wait for next brief — can be useful for volume work, but they’re not co-development partners. The distinction matters most under pressure: when the scope shifts, the timeline compresses, or a platform requirement changes mid-production.

The clearest signal of a genuine co-dev partner is longevity. Multi-year engagements don’t happen by accident. They happen because the partner integrated, adapted, and kept delivering when things got complicated.

Devoted Studios’ 4-year Avowed partnership with Obsidian Entertainment — spanning multiple production phases across environment art and character creation — is the kind of engagement that only works when the external team operates as an extension of the internal one, not as a separate vendor.

→ Learn how Devoted Studios approaches co-

The Porting Question Everyone Asks Too Late

Most studios think about porting after the core game is done. That’s usually the wrong time to start.

Platform certification — particularly for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox — has technical requirements that are significantly easier to meet when they’re considered during production, not retrofitted afterward. Memory constraints, input handling, performance budgets, and platform-specific UI all create rework when they’re treated as post-launch problems.

Devoted Studios ported Risk of Rain 2 (Gearbox Software) to 5 platforms simultaneously — Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation — achieving first-submission certification and handling network integration and DLC support across all versions. That outcome doesn’t happen by starting at the end of the production cycle.

For studios evaluating porting partners, the right question isn’t “can you port our game?” It’s “when do you need to be embedded for the port to ship clean?”

→ See Devoted Studios’ porting

How to Pick the Right Co-Dev Partner for Your Project

The evaluation process matters more than most studios acknowledge. A wrong fit discovered at month three costs more than a careful selection process at month zero.

Start with credits, not claims. Any studio worth talking to should be able to name the game, describe their role, and tell you the platform and engine. Vague portfolio pages with “AAA experience” and no titles are a signal worth noting.

Match the engagement model to your production structure. Some studios work best on defined deliverable scopes — X assets by Y date. Others integrate into your sprint cadence, attend stand-ups, and own a section of the project. Know which one your production needs before you start the conversation.

Ask about their longest engagement. Short-term projects are easier to deliver well. Multi-year partnerships require a different level of operational alignment — communication rhythms, escalation paths, scope change management, and production culture compatibility. The answer tells you something real.

Check platform certification history. For any project that ships on console, first-submission certification rates matter. Studios that routinely require multiple certification submissions add time and cost to every porting cycle. Ask directly.

Evaluate communication before you sign. The responsiveness, clarity, and specificity of a studio’s communication during the evaluation phase usually predicts their communication during production. Slow, vague, or over-promising during the pitch is a data point.

“The Obsidian team has been completely satisfied with Devoted Studios’ performance in all aspects – art quality, time management, adherence to style and timeline, communication quality control. Devoted does an excellent job and never hesitates to run the extra mile to guarantee the best outcome.”

— Chris Naves, Lead Art Outsourcing Manager, Obsidian Entertainment

The List Is Shorter Than You Think

The game development co-production market has hundreds of studios and a handful of genuine partners. The difference shows up in the credits — which titles shipped, on which platforms, with which teams, over how long.

In 2026, the studios worth calling are the ones that can answer those questions directly. No pitch decks required.

If you’re evaluating co-development partners for an upcoming production on Unreal Engine or Unity, Devoted Studios works across co-development, game porting, end-to-end art production, and engineering — with credits on Avowed, Arc Raiders, FNAF: Secret of the Mimic, Sunderfolk, and Risk of Rain 2.

Co-create with Devoted →

1. Devoted Studios – Co-Development, Porting & End-to-End Art Production

Devoted Studios was founded in 2018 with a specific thesis: studios building complex games need partners that embed into the pipeline, not vendors that execute tasks from the outside. Seven years later – 250+ core team, 15+ countries, 90+ clients, 250+ projects shipped – that model has held across some of the most demanding productions in the industry.

Four Years With Obsidian. Two Shipped Titles. Zero Resets.

The Obsidian partnership is the most telling credential on the list. On Avowed (PC/Xbox), Devoted ran end-to-end environment art production, 3D character creation, and concept art across a four-year engagement. On The Outer Worlds 2 – shipped October 2025 on PC and Xbox – the team delivered in-game lighting, cinematic lighting, and 3D character creation. Two consecutive major Obsidian releases. Same partner. No handoff, no ramp-up, no reset between projects.

Arc Raiders, Steel Wool, Gearbox – the Rest of the Sheet

On Arc Raiders (Embark Studios), Devoted co-developed gameplay systems, owned UI engineering, built gameplay features, and drove performance optimization across PlayStation, PC, and Xbox – all on Unreal Engine, all embedded inside Embark’s sprint structure.

Steel Wool Studios worked with Devoted across three FNAF titles: Security Breach, Help Wanted 2, and Secret of the Mimic. Porting, co-development, UI engineering, gameplay engineering, 3D tech art, art production – across consecutive releases on a franchise where the community notices every detail. Steel Wool’s CDO described Devoted as ‘an absolute force multiplier.’ His studio came back three times.

Risk of Rain 2 (Gearbox Software): five platforms, ported simultaneously, first-submission certification. The Switch and Switch 2 porting practice at Devoted is one of the most developed in the current US market.

The Team

Ryan Lastimosa (Studio Art Director) – formerly Respawn Entertainment, credits on Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Call of Duty 4. Flavius Alecu (CTO) – credits on Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA V, and PS5 platform work. Jason Millena (Executive Creative Director). People who’ve shipped at the highest level, now building the teams that do it here.

“Devoted has been an absolute force multiplier for our development needs. They’re communicative, transparent, and always deliver on their commitments. Devoted cares about the quality of what’s being shipped just as much as we do – which has led to a deep trust on our side.”

— Ray McCaffrey, Chief Development Officer, Steel Wool Studios

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  Engine depth: Unreal Engine (UE4/UE5), Unity, proprietary
• 
  Credits: Arc Raiders (Embark), Avowed + The Outer Worlds 2 (Obsidian), FNAF series (Steel Wool), Risk of Rain 2 (Gearbox), Sunderfolk (Dreamhaven)
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  Best for: Multi-discipline co-development, Unreal/Unity, console porting, Switch/Switch 2, end-to-end art
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  Team: 250+ core · scales per engagement · leadership from Respawn, Rockstar, Sony

→ Co-development services · Porting services · End-to-end art production

Other US Game Development Studios Worth Knowing in 2026

These studios were selected for depth in specific niches – each strong in areas where the client profile or production type doesn’t overlap significantly with Devoted’s core work.

Certain Affinity – Multiplayer Systems Specialists

Austin, Texas-based studio with a deep specialization in multiplayer game development and co-development. Known for work on Halo, Age of Empires, and Left 4 Dead. Certain Affinity operates primarily at the AAA multiplayer tier – systems engineering, live service architecture, and online gameplay features. Strong fit for publishers running large-scale multiplayer titles who need a specialist co-dev partner for the networking and systems layer specifically.

Disbelief – Engineering-First Co-Development

Chicago-based engineering studio that operates almost entirely as a co-development partner rather than a full-service studio. Deep Unreal and Unity expertise with a focus on gameplay systems, tools, and performance engineering. Disbelief is built for studios that have a strong creative and art pipeline but need senior engineering capacity embedded into the team. Smaller, more agile than the large co-dev studios – suited for mid-scale productions where decision speed matters.

Abstraction Games – Porting Specialists

US-operated studio (with European roots) with a strong and specific reputation in game porting – PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo platforms. Long track record across indie and mid-scale titles. For studios that need a dedicated porting partner with a focus on technical precision and certification discipline, Abstraction is one of the more recognized names in that specific lane.

Sunblink – Indie and Apple Platforms

New York-based studio with particular expertise in Apple platform development – Apple Arcade titles, iOS, and tvOS. For studios specifically targeting Apple’s ecosystem, Sunblink has navigated that platform’s quirks and certification requirements across multiple shipped titles. Narrow focus, genuine depth in that lane.

Mighty Bear Games – Mobile Co-Development

Mobile-first co-development studio with teams across the US and Southeast Asia. Strong on Unity, experienced with live-service mobile titles and rapid iteration. Good fit for studios building mobile-first games that need co-development infrastructure built around that stack – not a console-heavy studio retooled for mobile.

5 Questions to Ask Before You Sign Anything

1. Who’s leading the engagement – by name? Not the sales contact. The producer actually running your project. What have they shipped? Where? Seniority on the execution side is the single biggest predictor of whether the partnership works.

2. What’s their cert pass rate? For anything involving porting or platform submission, first-submission certification history is a concrete, verifiable number. Cert failure adds months. Devoted Studios’ five-platform first-submission pass on Risk of Rain 2 is a production record – not a marketing claim.

3. Can they run multiple disciplines on the same project? A studio that handles UI engineering, gameplay features, and art production simultaneously – as Devoted did on FNAF: Secret of the Mimic – has a different structural capability than one that owns a clean, narrow scope. Know which one your project needs.

4. What does their cadence actually look like? Weekly check-ins vs. milestone reviews vs. embedded standups – how a studio structures communication tells you how they think about accountability. Studios that disappear between deliverables are task vendors, whatever they call themselves.

5. What do clients say – and did they come back? Testimonials are table stakes. The real signal is repeat business. When Obsidian ran two consecutive titles through the same partner, that’s not a quote. That’s a production decision made under real pressure.

“The Obsidian team has been completely satisfied with Devoted Studios’ performance in all aspects – art quality, time management, adherence to style and timeline, communication quality control. Devoted does an excellent job and never hesitates to run the extra mile to guarantee the best outcome.”

— Chris Naves, Lead Art Outsourcing Manager, Obsidian Entertainment

Start With the Credits, Not the Claims

The studios worth working with in 2026 are the ones with track records you can verify. Named games on platforms you ship to. Clients who came back. Roles specific enough to tell you something real about how the studio actually operates.

For US-led co-development across Unreal or Unity – or for Nintendo Switch 2 porting with a studio that has first-submission certification experience – Devoted Studios is the right starting point.

→ Talk to the Devoted Studios team about your project. Or explore co-development, porting, and end-to-end art production.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Sony continues to be one of the highest revenue generators globally, powered by the PlayStation ecosystem, strong PC expansion, and award winning first party titles. The company consistently appears near the top of gaming revenue rankings and performs extremely well in critical reception.

What Makes Sony Hard to Beat

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  A growing library of top tier exclusives
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  Strong live service ambitions
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  PC ports expanding total audience
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  PlayStation Plus shaping long term engagement
• 
  A mature global platform ecosystem

Sony continues to be one of the dominant competitors of the industry as it enters 2026 with strength from both hardware and content.

Tencent Games

Tencent has rebounded strongly after a slower period during China’s regulatory tightening. By 2025, both domestic and global game revenues were growing again, especially with major mobile hits and its broad portfolio of stakes in Western studios.

What Keeps Tencent at the Top of the Gaming Industry

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  Ownership of Riot Games and Supercell
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  Stakes in Ubisoft, Epic, Remedy, Fatshark and others
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  A mobile business still unmatched in scale
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  Heavy investment in high end real time and multiplayer projects

Tencent remains a core pillar of global gaming, influencing trends far beyond China.

Microsoft Gaming

Microsoft now operates one of the largest content portfolios in entertainment after acquiring Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. Game Pass continues to be a strategic driver for platform engagement across Xbox, PC, and cloud.

How Microsoft Stays Ahead Going Into 2026

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  A massive first party and third party content pipeline
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  Cross platform strategy across console, PC, and cloud
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  Game Pass shaping player expectations for access
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  Long term investment in AI and cloud tools for developers

Microsoft plays a central role in how games are distributed, consumed, and monetised in 2026.

Nintendo

Nintendo continues to print industry defining hits. Its evergreen franchises (Mario, Zelda, Pokémon) deliver long tail sales that outperform most modern releases.

With the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2, the company is positioned for another major hardware cycle. Early industry reporting suggests stronger third party interest, more support for high fidelity engines, and a smoother pipeline for cross platform titles compared to the first Switch generation.

Why Nintendo Remains a Global Gaming Leader

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  Iconic global IP
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  Family friendly content with near universal reach
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  A tightly integrated hardware software model
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  High attach rates per console
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  Insulation from industry trends like live service volatility

Switch 2 is expected to energise both Nintendo’s revenue and developer demand throughout 2026, keeping the company near the top of the global market.

Electronic Arts

EA’s big titles continue to lead recurring revenue trends. Sports franchises like FIFA FC and Madden remain among the top earners. Apex Legends is still a major live service force.

A large private equity buyout has reshaped EA’s long term trajectory, making 2026 a defining year for its strategic direction.Electronic Arts’ $55 billion take-private by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, alongside Silver Lake and Affinity Partners signals a major repricing of gaming assets and a change toward long term, performance driven strategy.

How EA Stays Relevant and Respected in 2026

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  Reliable live service backbone
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  Sports franchises with global annual demand
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  New ownership pushing for higher efficiency and profitability
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  Large multiplatform footprint

EA remains too big and too consistent to ignore.

Epic Games

Epic Games sits in a uniquely powerful position in 2026 because no other company controls both a top grossing live service title and the industry’s most influential game engine.

Fortnite alone is on track to generate around 6 billion dollars in revenue in 2025, solidifying it as a 40 billion dollar plus lifetime phenomenon. The game remains one of the most consistently played and monetised live service games in the world, while Unreal Engine continues to be the backbone of AAA development, indie production, virtual production, and real time film pipelines.

Why Epic’s Influence Keeps Growing

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  Unreal Engine powering AAA, indie, VR, and film
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  Fortnite evolving into a platform of its own
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  Strong creator economy tools
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  Cross media integrations across games, films, and brands

Epic is hugely influencing gaming and interactive entertainment in 2026 and beyond thanks to Fortnite’s growing economy and Unreal Engine’s dominance across industries.

Roblox Corporation

Roblox isn’t operating as a traditional game studio anymore. At RDC 2025, Roblox doubled down on their vision: capturing 10% of all global gaming content revenue. By 2026, it functions as a full scale platform (part game, part social network, part creation suite, and part digital marketplace). Its strength comes from scale and the ability to turn players into creators, creators into entrepreneurs, and brands into interactive participants.

Roblox’s ecosystem continues to grow because it doesn’t depend on a single hit title. Instead, millions of worlds, experiences, and user made games power the entire platform. The company sits at the intersection of entertainment, education, social interaction, and virtual commerce, giving it a unique position in the global games industry.

Why Roblox Matters in 2026

• 
  Massive DAU numbers (112 million daily active users)
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  Strong user generated content economy
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  A young audience that grows up inside the platform
• 
  Educational and enterprise expansion

Roblox dominates 2026 because it blends gaming, social networks, creation tools, and digital entrepreneurship into a single ecosystem. Its scale, creator economy, and ability to grow with its audience ensure it stays one of the most influential companies in the industry.

Where Devoted Studios Fits Into a 2026 Market Led by Giants

As the biggest publishers expand their expectations for quality, scale, and production speed, studios working with them need stronger partners.

Devoted Studios helps teams ship on the platforms these giants dominate, supporting art, engineering, porting, and full co-development across Unreal and Unity. Our team integrates directly into your production pipeline so you can scale without adding permanent headcount.

From indie teams building ambitious new IP to mid sized studios working alongside major publishers, Devoted makes it possible to deliver at big studio quality levels.