Studios are publishing for themselves. Why now, and what comes next

I have been MD at justtrack for about four months. One pattern keeps showing up in my calls: studios with 5 to 100 people who say, “We want to publish this one ourselves.”

This is not a study. It is what I see with my own eyes, coming into this market fresh. But it is strong enough that I wanted to write it down. And the numbers back it up: in a GDC 2026 developer survey, 35% of studios said they were funding development themselves, against only 20% relying on publishing deals or project financing.

Why are more mobile studios self-publishing now?

I see three things coming together.

The unit economics are better. Studios know their numbers much more precisely than a few years ago. Tighter LTV models, better creative testing, smarter monetisation. When payback is predictable, giving away a publisher’s share starts to feel expensive.

UA funding no longer means giving up equity. Players like PvX fund user acquisition against the revenue it generates, you pay it back from performance and keep your cap table. This is not a fringe idea anymore. In April 2026 PvX put $2 million of UA financing into Smash Games to scale a single title, and Tilting Point runs a dedicated fund for developers who want to self-publish and keep their IP and equity. A few years ago this was rare. Today it is a real option.

AI helps far beyond the code, and that is also the dilemma. Prototypes come quicker. But the same tools now build creatives, handle localization and take over many small tasks that used to eat a team’s week. A studio of 15 can test more ad concepts, launch in more languages and ship faster, without growing headcount. The catch: it is true for everyone. Your competitors get the same tools, so more games, more creatives and more noise land in the same stores. Competition goes up, and the edge gets thinner.

That is why I think the next differentiator is not who produces more, but who understands more. Getting close to the real revenue, per user, per cohort, per campaign, decides which ideas you scale and which you stop early.

Where is this happening most?

I notice it especially in Asia, but it is global. Last week I watched the NextBigGames podcast with the COO of Funcell, a studio from India. Twelve years of building hits for publishers, fully bootstrapped. Then they walked away from the publisher model to own their IP. Their narrative game Pawn to Don has passed more than two million downloads. They talked about UA financing instead of venture money, and about producing around 110 AI ad creatives a week. That is exactly the dilemma I mean: when one studio can do this, every studio will.

What changes when you publish yourself?

When everyone can build more, knowing what actually pays back is the only advantage that compounds.

A publisher used to bring the UA muscle and the measurement setup. Now both land on your desk.

Measurement stops being a back-office topic. It becomes the nervous system of the studio. It tells you which campaign pays back, which cohort sticks and when to scale. And if you work with funders, your numbers are also your credibility.

What should a studio look for in a measurement partner?

An MMP (mobile measurement partner) tracks where your players come from and what they do and spend afterwards. If you want the longer version, our Glossary breaks down the terms. For a self-publishing studio, I would check five things:

• One picture. Attribution and in-app analytics in the same place, not two tools that disagree.
• Open to your stack. You should be able to work with your own AI tools through an MCP server and API, not only through our dashboard.
• Answers, not just charts. Forecasting, anomaly detection, segment comparison and cohort building, plus your own raw data in a Data Vault.
• Pricing that starts small. A studio with 20 people should not pay like a studio with 2,000.
• Independence. Your partner should work for you, not for an ad network.

What does justtrack cost for a small studio?

We price on monthly active users, not installs. Up to 10K MAU is free. At 50K MAU it is €100 a month, at 100K €250 a month. Every feature is included in every tier. No gating, no add-ons.

Your price also reflects how your games earn. A hyper-casual studio and a mid-core RPG studio with the same MAU are not the same business, so we adjust for revenue per user. We calculate it together with you. If a launch spikes your numbers, you get a 2-month grace period on overages. A hit should feel good, not like a surprise invoice.

Base rates are for annual commitment, billed monthly. Month-to-month is available at +20%. Current numbers are always on our Pricing page.

FAQ

What is an MMP?

A mobile measurement partner attributes installs and revenue to the campaigns that drove them and shows what players do afterwards.

Is there a free plan?

Yes, up to 10K MAU, and every paid tier starts with a 14-day trial, no credit card.

Can I use my own AI tools with my data?

Yes. We offer an MCP server and API access, plus an in-app chat for your data.

What counts as a monthly active user?

Anyone who fires at least one tracked event in a rolling 30-day window.

Built for studios that want to win. Not just measure.

If you are a studio thinking about going alone, I would love to hear your story. Start the trial, or just write to me. The door is open.

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