SayGames reflects on 2025: Fewer projects but deeper partnerships

• Volnykh feels that focused partnerships drive deeper collaboration and better product outcomes.
• Market expansion in South Korea is tapping into global talent and creative diversity.
• Success in 2026 will come from execution and attention to detail, not volume.

2025 was the year SayGames' long-term strategy of doubling down on fewer projects came into full focus in 2025, says the company's chief publishing officer Anton Volnykh.

Speaking to PocketGamer.biz, Volnykh says rather than scaling through multiple new endeavours, a shift to fewer projects with deeper involvement by its teams is now reflected cross its portfolio. It's a shift reflected by a number of players in the hypercasual space, moving to a more focused library of titles and adding deeper mechanics.

That involvement spans monetisation, analytics, machine learning-driven prediction models, testing, and close day-to-day collaboration with development teams. Alongside that, SayGames has been investing more heavily in in-app economies designed to support longer-term performance. 

“This year we saw more projects that can not only scale quickly but also sustain healthy in-game monetisation over the long-term,” he explains. “For us, that’s a key part of how the portfolio is evolving.” 

At the same time, SayGames has expanded the geographical reach of its partnerships, now working with studios across multiple regions.

Volnykh says the company is now working with studios from all over the world and how “this diversity of talent and creative cultures gives us a richer pipeline and helps us look at hybridcausal from different angles".

Momentum through partnerships and technology 

Discussing what has driven SayGames’ momentum, Volnykh first points to the company's approach to partnerships. 

“We don’t just work with a project, we work with the team behind it,” he says. “We invest in people, not just ideas.”

That philosophy has become a big part of how SayGames works today. “We’ve become much more focused in the past couple of years, we can be far more involved and supportive where it truly matters."

Volnykh also speaks about SayGames' internal analytics and marketing tools, as well as machine learning models designed to give teams clearer signals and more predictable decision-making. 

“Our analytics, marketing and ML models give teams the visibility they need to make better product decisions,” he says. “They allow the partnership model to actually function at scale.”

That combination has translated into results for the team, and with 2025 drawing to a close, SayGames has multiple titles in the charts. 

“Right now, in December, we have around eight games simultaneously in the top 200 free games both on iOS and Android," Volnykh says, adding that My Perfect Hotel continues to hold a place in the top 30 free rankings on iOS.

Maintaining quality and finding balance

Maintaining quality at scale is a constant challenge. Volnykh says the solution lies in a clear division of responsibility.

“Developers keep full creative ownership, while we bring the publishing expertise, analytics, and market understanding needed to grow the product,” he explains.

Selectivity also plays a key role. SayGames looks for teams that are committed to the craft and long-term quality, rather than chasing short-term results.

“When the creative side is in good hands, the teams can fully focus on quality, and we take on everything else on the publishing side,” Volnykh says.

The balance between proven knowledge and experimentation is something that also shapes how SayGames approaches new releases. Volnykh describes a process rooted in data, but flexible enough to allow each game to develop its own sense of identity. 

“Over the years, we’ve built a large knowledge base around hybridcasual,” he says. “We know how certain mechanics behave, how players move through progression, how different monetisation models influence retention.”

Rather than guessing, teams use this experience to form clearer ideas, but Volnykh is also clear that this doesn’t mean playing it safe.

“Each game needs its own identity,” he says. “So we encourage teams to test new ideas, in mechanics, meta, art, and overall pacing, but we validate these ideas quickly through data.”

Volnykh also speaks on how soft launching has changed. Instead of a greenlight moment, a soft launch has become an ongoing learning process.

“We don’t need to treat soft launch as a final yes/no stage anymore," Volnykh explains. “It’s a structured learning process with fast iterations.”

Expansion into South Korea and what's next

In 2025, SayGames also expanded its regional presence, particularly in South Korea. Volnykh sees the market as a strong fit for hybridcasual development. 

“South Korea has a unique combination of technical excellence, strong art direction, and a very mature game design culture,” he says.

“For us, South Korea is not just a new market, it’s a new talent ecosystem. Many studios there have a strong focus on quality, a perfectionist approach to craft, and a  long-term mindset toward partnerships.”

Volnykh expects competition in mobile games to intensify further in 2026, with greater expectations for early prototypes and testing.

“Today, the cost of a single attempt is much higher. Prototypes need to be deeper, more complete, and closer to the real game to show meaningful signals."

As a result, success will come less from novelty and more from execution, with Volnykh telling us that the games that will stand out in 2026 are the ones “built with more attention, stronger systems, and better tech behind them".

That shift toward fewer, stronger products aligns closely with SayGames' current direction, and its momentum has seen it find a place on our 2025 Top 50 Game Makers list. 

“For us, the Top 50 ranking is not about prestige. It’s a signal that our approach works, and motivation to raise the bar again.”