Appcharge’s predictions come straight from what they have seen across hundreds of live deployments with top publishers – shifts in regulation, player behaviour, studio structure, monetisation strategy, and how fast DTC infrastructure is maturing.
David Stelzer, CSO at Appcharge
1. The App Store Walls Keep Cracking – and the Market Stops Waiting
In 2026, the biggest shift isn’t regulation itself but publisher behaviour. Apple, Google, and EU regulators are reshaping the rules simultaneously. With dual monetization systems (platform + DTC) becoming standard, studios are no longer asking whether they should build DTC; they’re asking how fast they can scale it.
DTC will emerge as the safer, more flexible, and more developer-controlled counterpart to legacy platform billing.
2. Web Stores Become Native to the Game Experience
The psychological barrier with players is gone. What once felt “external” now feels like part of the game universe. 2026 web stores will deliver: loyalty ecosystems; bundles and gifting; subscription models; personalized offers and rewards; and seamless identity and entitlement systems.
As friction disappears, habit formation accelerates, and DTC stops being an optional detour – it becomes the preferred path for value.
3. DTC Becomes the Margin Lifeline That Publishers Depend On
User Acquisition isn’t getting cheaper, platform fees aren’t shrinking, and data is more important than ever. Even a modest shift of IAP volume into DTC materially impacts profitability. Expect personalized pricing, web-based subscriptions, cross-channel identity and attribution, and in-app Payment Links that feel native but deliver superior economics.
DTC becomes a structural advantage, not a tactical experiment.
4. The DTC Playbook Finally Standardizes Across the Industry
The patchwork era is over. Studios are converging on a shared model with clear architecture – universal checkout, identity & entitlement management, offer engines, creator commerce, loyalty systems, web stores + in-app Payment Links, and finance/tax infrastructure baked in.
DTC finally has a product roadmap, not just a marketing wishlist.
5. Studios Reorganize Internally Around DTC
The real transformation in 2026 isn’t just technical – it’s organizational. Studios are beginning to establish dedicated DTC teams sitting at the intersection of monetization, growth, live ops, and BI. This includes: DTC-specific analytics and KPIs, cross-functional workflows, tax/compliance operations from day one, and lifecycle marketing built around web stores.
Treating DTC as its own business unit becomes a decisive competitive edge.
Bottom line from David Stelzer
2026 is the year DTC becomes part of the industry’s standard operating model. The leaders are scaling, the followers are scrambling. And the market has fully shifted from asking “Should we do DTC?” to “How fast can we transform our business around it?”
David Stelzer – CSO at Appcharge
Paul Bowen, CRO at Appcharge
1. Even After Apple and Google Settle, Payment Links Accelerate
A settlement won’t slow the industry trend – it will legitimize it. Publishers now see Payment Links as the cleanest, fastest, and lowest-friction onboarding ramp into a DTC ecosystem.
Payment Links become a core acquisition, retention, and monetization channel, bridging in-app behaviour with out-of-app value.
2. New Entrants in the MoR Space – and Consolidation Begins
The rules of the game have changed, and the payments industry has noticed. PSPs will be entering mobile gaming for the first time, large enterprise payment providers will be launching gaming MoR offerings, and there will be M&A as the market crowds and early leaders emerge.
2026 will be the first year mobile gaming experiences a proper payments land grab.
3. DTC Share of Wallet Crosses 50% for Advanced Publishers
We’re already seeing clients reach 35–40% DTC share – and the curve is steepening.
With refined GTM strategies, native-feeling Payment Links, better player education, and richer loyalty systems, leading publishers will push beyond 50% DTC share of wallet in 2026.
Crossing that threshold transforms DTC from “a growth lever” into the central revenue engine of the business.
4. The DTC Revenue Gap Widens Between Leaders and Laggards
As the DTC playbook becomes standardized, it will not benefit all studios equally. Those who embrace lifecycle-driven retention, dynamic, web-based pricing, loyalty & subscription economies, and cross-channel user journeys… will massively outperform studios that see DTC as a bolt-on.
The performance divide will become a defining market story in 2026.
5. GTM Excellence Becomes the Make-or-Break Factor
Technology alone won’t dictate winners – go-to-market strategy will. The publishers scaling fastest are those who treat DTC like a full commercial discipline – dedicated DTC monetization teams; structured education for players; targeted acquisition into web value; and coordinated messaging across game, CRM, and community.
In 2026, the market rewards precision, not experimentation.
Bottom Line from Paul Bowen
2026 is the year DTC revenue becomes measurable, predictable, and scalable at levels that were unimaginable two years ago. As the ecosystem opens and competition heats up, the studios with the strongest DTC GTM engines will be the ones who win… and win big.
Paul Bowen – CRO at Appcharge
Gil Tov-Ly, CMO at Appcharge
1. The rise of the “VP of DTC”
In 2026, we will see more formal DTC leadership roles appear, but the real change is scope. The VP of DTC (or equivalent) will own a full commercial line of business – strategy, budgets, KPIs, and cross-functional roadmaps that cut across UA, monetization, live ops, BI, and finance.
Studios that treat DTC as a true P&L owner, not a side-project under monetization, will move faster and take bigger swings.
2. Crossing 50% DTC forces web-first design
As more leading studios pass 50 percent DTC share of wallet, design will start from the web and flow back into the app, not the other way around. Economies, live ops calendars, and event concepts will be planned around web value first, with in-app offers adapted from DTC-native ideas.
Inside top teams, the quiet default becomes: “What is the web store story here?” before any platform placement is even discussed.
3. DTC becomes the “Town Hall” for loyal players
In 2026, the most advanced publishers will turn their DTC presence into the central meeting place for their players. Web will host identity, VIP and loyalty benefits, cross-game value, and a clear view of a player’s relationship with the brand.
Appcharge’s game portal and parking domain products are part of this shift. They let studios build a persistent “Town Hall” around their web assets: a place players bookmark, return to for offers, events, and news, and begin to see as the natural home of the game community rather than a side trip for cheaper purchases.
Bottom Line from Gil Tov-Ly
Put simply, 2026 is the year DTC stops being a side hustle and becomes the way the most serious studios are built, run, and loved by their players.
Gil Tov-Ly – CMO at Appcharge
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