DMCC releases gaming finance report following Gamescom

Image via DMCC

DMCC Gaming Centre has released a new report following a closed-door gaming industry roundtable held at Gamescom 2026 in Cologne.

The Financing the Future of Gaming report brings together key themes and findings from the session, which included game studio founders, publishers, investors, payments specialists, technology providers and other industry stakeholders.

The roundtable examined whether the financial infrastructure supporting gaming has kept pace with changes in the industry, particularly as studios increasingly self-publish, operate internationally and take greater control of distribution and monetisation.

Among the issues highlighted in the report are access to gaming-focused investment, rising user acquisition and distribution costs, local payment infrastructure and the regulatory challenges studios face when expanding across borders.

It also looks at the impact of AI on studio economics, including its potential to make development more efficient and provide better data for investment decisions.

The report also explores how gaming should be treated as an investable category in its own right, rather than relying on financing models borrowed from technology, media or traditional project finance.

The DMCC report also forecasts that the next stage of growth will require more specialised financial and commercial infrastructure capable of supporting studios as they scale internationally.