Sega has revealed its earnings report for its latest financial reporting period, and it seems to point to the end of live service gaming. The company announced drastic cutbacks against F2P titles, transferring over 100 developers to other titles and cancelling its ‘Super Game’ project. In addition, it also revealed major devaluations of Angry Birds owner Rovio, and its gambling sector seems to be having issues too.
The news mainly points to a growing trend in the industry. Free-to-play titles and live service games are struggling massively. It has become a bit of a meme to call games Concord (insert number here) by showing a live service game crashing and burning almost immediately. Considering the latest market trends, F2P live service cash cows have certainly stopped producing milk, leaving the land barren for those who thrived off its once lush pastures. It has made Sega reassess and ultimately cancel its project budget to save it and place it elsewhere.
The numbers do not lie either. While net sales were up, the company reported a ¥5.8 billion loss despite an increase in net sales of 13.7%. That is a sign that players are technically buying more, but either spending less per transaction than before, or not spending as much on live service microtransactions as they once did.
The case points to the likes of Angry Birds, for example. Since Sega acquired Rovio in 2023, the company’s valuation dropped from €309 million to a forecast of €158 million. That is pretty much a decline of half its valuation since ownership began. While it expects value to increase with a new title and a licensed film, it suspects that it is not enough to stem the bleeding.
It’s also killed a lot of its NFT games too this fiscal year.
The story tells us where the gaming landscape is going. Gamers seemingly want better quality titles that are largely reasonably priced. The live service evergreen model has tanked, and it is starting to show in which companies it has or will hit going forward. Sega has strong IPs and studios capable of great things, ranging from all of Creative Assembly’s current projects to Persona games, Sonic, and much more. Getting those games out as standalone titles with DLC packages is likely what we will see more of in the years ahead.
Also, Sega’s parent company owns a Maltese casino site, which also seems to be having some problems at the moment. That too is cited as another contributing factor in the earnings report, reflecting a decline in profits. If you’re curious, you can find the full SegaSammy financial earnings on their investor relations site.
Last Updated On: May 12, 2026 2:29 pm CEST