Deconstructor of Fun 290. 10 x Co-Development Trends: Why the Best Studios Are Scaling Without Hiring
Jun 9, 2025
Carla Rylands, an external development expert and chair of the XDS Advisory Committee, joins the discussion to explore trends in the gaming industry. She highlights the shift towards co-development, particularly post-COVID, and the rising budgets for external projects. The conversation delves into the transformative role of AI in game development, addressing its applications and legal challenges. Carla emphasizes the importance of trusted partnerships and adaptability in navigating industry changes, alongside emerging insights from the latest XDS Insights Report.
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COVID Accelerated External Dev Use
- Carla Rylands shared how COVID accelerated the adoption of external development by forcing teams to work remotely.
- This led studios to embrace external partners as integral extensions of internal teams.
Growing External Dev Budgets Post-COVID
- External development budgets over $6 million have surged post-COVID, indicating bigger scopes handed to external partners.
- This reflects a trend of studios leveraging external teams for scalability and flexibility instead of growing fixed employees.
Publishers Lead AI Adoption in Gaming
- Publishers widely increased their AI adoption for external development tasks, nearly doubling from 2024 to 2025.
- Service providers lag behind publishers in AI use, likely due to contract restrictions on AI usage.