What does the future of external development look like?

External development is moving beyond asset production and port support into a more central part of how games are built. Senior figures across the space expect partners to take on features, pipelines, live content, and even major slices of full game development as publishers stay cautious after years of expansion and layoffs.

Claude Bordeleau of Winking Studios sees the market splitting between large providers that can handle complex, multi-discipline work and boutique teams with rare expertise. He also argues that the real differentiator is trust: clear communication, IP protection, accountability, and leadership that can bridge Western-facing creative direction with production depth in Asia and other regions.

AI is expected to automate repetitive work, but not replace the need for taste, judgment, and creative ownership. The bigger effect may be that players expect more content, more responsiveness, and higher production values, pushing external teams toward higher-value technical and creative contributions rather than pure throughput.

Other leaders see the business model changing as well. Xu Xiaojun of Studio Gobo expects reduced overall demand but greater reliance on external teams, while Stuart Muckley of Code Wizards Group predicts more project-based financing, per-game legal entities, and a stronger move toward specialist service providers. In that model, risk management, payment terms, and IP protection become as important as raw production capacity.