Nearly all video games studios run a direct-to-consumer (D2C) web store or plan to, in accordance to a new survey.
The Annual State of D2C Sport Monetisation Survey, printed by FastSpring and Omdia, discovered that 59% of recreation publishers and studios already function a D2C store.
Of the 41% that do not, 91% plan to launch one, with 67% intending to achieve this inside 12 months.
FastSpring and Omdia collected knowledge from 110 senior administration and exec-level respondents between April and June 2026.
The survey discovered D2C adoption elevated modestly from 57% final yr to 59% this yr. Nevertheless, a greater change occurred amongst non-adopters: final yr, 60% deliberate to begin a D2C store inside 12 months, rising to 67% this yr.
The highest causes for utilizing a D2C platform are to enhance model visibility and loyalty (66%) and to acquire higher entry to first-party buyer knowledge and insights (58%).
Different key motivations embrace higher management over pricing and promotions (54%), larger revenue margins (52%), and constructing direct relationships with gamers (51%).
The principle barrier to launching a D2C store is technical complexity (56%), down from 67% final yr. Different considerations embrace “damaging relationships” with Apple and Google (51%) and authorized or regulatory uncertainty (47%).
Current regulatory modifications, together with the Epic vs Apple and Epic vs Google instances within the EU and US, have enabled exterior cost choices on iOS and Android. These modifications additionally have an effect on markets corresponding to Japan and Brazil.
82% of respondents mentioned these modifications made them “extra assured sooner or later worth of D2C,” whereas 96% discovered “at the very least some confidence of their understanding of the shifting authorized panorama.”
Final yr, 95% of D2C customers elevated their funding after the Epic vs Apple ruling. After Google’s choice to cut back Play Store charges this yr, 88% of respondents plan to improve funding in 2026, with 42% intending to achieve this considerably, up from 33% final yr.
“These authorized outcomes are straight prompting swift motion amongst cautious builders,” mentioned FastSpring. “Now 93% of non-adopters say latest court docket selections have made them extra doubtless to undertake a D2C web store; solely 6.7% mentioned the rulings modified nothing.”
Publishers and studios working D2C platforms generate between 10% and 29% of their complete income by means of these channels, with about one-third deriving 20% or extra.
“75% of D2C operators say their share of income from direct channels elevated over the past 12 months, with solely a small minority reporting any decline.”
84% of respondents are “hitting or exceeding their 2025 D2C goal,” with 66% exceeding it. As a end result, 65% have set larger D2C targets for 2026 than final yr.
“Final yr, 49% of non-adopters mentioned they didn’t consider D2C would drive important income. This yr, that doubt has fallen to 38%.”
FastSpring notes that studios and publishers are selecting D2C to “personal the participant relationship and the information that comes with it,” shifting the platform “from a cost-cutting tactic into a development and possession technique.”
“Studios and publishers that steer gamers strategically – rising the share of income working by means of direct channels whereas deliberately managing platform charges – can raise total profitability moderately than merely keep away from a lower.”