Ustwo Games abandons mobile subscriptions after Apple and Netflix pull premium funding
Summary
Ustwo CEO Maria Sayans admits the studio stayed in mobile subscriptions too long, calling it a "honeypot trap"
Apple and Netflix stopped funding low-retention premium titles, collapsing Ustwo's de facto client base
Studio runs AAA-level cost per employee, making unsubsidised premium mobile unviable
"Making premium games on mobile...that just wasn't going to fly on mobile. We'll see if it flies on PC"
01
Ustwo was a developer-for-hire dressed as a premium mobile studio
Revenue came almost entirely through Apple Arcade and Netflix deals, not direct sales
Both platforms pivoted to higher-retention titles, cutting Ustwo's funding without a commercial fallback
Average cost per employee sits at AAA-developer levels, per Sayans
"Apple and Netflix didn't want to pay us anymore to make those kinds of games"
02
The Ustwo Games PC shift is a survival bet, not a growth thesis
Choice was binary: adopt free-to-play mechanics or move to PC
Free-to-play was ruled out as incompatible with studio DNA
Sayans' "we'll see if it flies on PC" framing signals financial pressure, not validated demand
BD read: expect leaner headcount and contractor-heavy production to fit PC premium economics
03
Platforms are failing the 30% revenue share on discoverability
Sayans called industry discoverability "mind-boggling" and accused platforms of not earning their fee
"You pay 30% to a platform...to help you reach an audience and right now that's not really working"
Ustwo response: 'Beautiful Games Club', a book-club-style channel building D2C audience parallel to releases
Structural drag: single-player launches reset the audience each cycle, unlike live-service compounding
Events
Companies
Games
—
Locations
—
COMPILED BY GAMES ATLAS EDITORIAL
RELATED ARTICLES
EXPLORE MORE
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!