Gaming and iGaming valuation multiples.

Game studios are valued on how durable their revenue is. A portfolio of live-service titles with steady monetisation is worth far more than a studio living off one launch. Buyers model revenue decay for each title and discount heavily when one game drives most of the income. Infrastructure and tools avoid that risk entirely, which is why they sit at the top of the table.

For consumer games the core metrics are daily and monthly active users, day-1, day-7 and day-30 retention, average revenue per daily active user, and the ratio of lifetime value to user acquisition cost. Buyers want to see that paid acquisition is profitable at the cohort level, not just that installs are growing.

In iGaming, where revenue is earned matters as much as how much. Gross gaming revenue from regulated markets with stable tax regimes supports premium multiples. Revenue from markets where the operator is unlicensed, or where regulation is changing, is discounted or carved out of the deal entirely.

Buyers also diligence responsible gambling controls, AML procedures and any regulatory sanctions history, because these can follow the business after completion.

Platform, content and data suppliers that serve many operators generally trade above single-brand operators. Their revenue is spread across customers and markets, and they avoid the marketing cost of acquiring players directly. Operators with a strong brand and efficient player acquisition can close that gap.

Esports organisations have depended on sponsorship and media rights, which have proved volatile, and many have struggled to reach sustained profitability. Buyers price the audience and brand rather than the earnings, so multiples are lower and structures often include earnouts tied to sponsorship renewals.

Place the business in the right segment, then adjust for title concentration, licence quality and cohort economics. For wider context, compare the full sector multiples dataset or read our gaming M&A advisory overview.