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At WN Cyprus, 84% Of Showcased Game Teams Were Looking For Backing

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 28, 2026

While policymakers and business leaders discussed how the island could support more studios, 84% of the teams participating in the Developer Showcase were looking for an investor, a publisher, or both, according to organisers.

More than 20 teams presented projects at WN Conference Cyprus’26, held at Parklane in Limassol on 17 and 18 September. According to WN’s post-event figures, the conference drew 503 attendees from 251 companies, with 52% of participants holding C-level roles. The two-day event brought together developers, publishers, investors and technology companies for meetings, discussions and game demonstrations. It was WN’s fifth consecutive annual conference in Cyprus, where the organiser has held games industry events since 2018.

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The funding needs revealed by the showcase gave added weight to one of the programme’s central questions: can Cyprus develop from a location for international company headquarters into a country where studios can also find talent, investment and support for new projects?

Dr Nicodemos Damianou, Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, discussed that question with Tanya Romanyukha, General Manager of TechIsland. Their conversation covered access to talent and finance, as well as the conditions needed for more studios to build and grow from Cyprus.

Investment decisions under pressure

The rest of the programme also reflected the difficult commercial environment facing game developers. Discussions raised the topics of cautious investment, layoffs, changing player behaviour and the effect of artificial intelligence on production and distribution.

In To Scale or Not to Scale: That Is the Question, Pavel Istomin, Publishing Game Producer at Hypercell Games, and Nikolay Shapovalov, Chief Publishing Officer at playducky.com, considered how studios decide whether to commit more money to a game or stop development. Phillip Black, co-host and co-author of Deconstructor of Fun, moderated the discussion, which focused on the market data and early performance indicators used in publishing decisions.

A separate session examined how games can attract an audience before release. FLEXUS founder Semyon Kozyura joined Julia Lebedeva, COO and Partner at WN Media Group, to discuss Dear Passengers, which organisers said had accumulated three million Steam wishlists before launch.

Four teams also presented their projects to an industry jury during the Indie Pitch:

Through Your Eyes by Omeelia GmbH
Anicards by Dragocat
World of Sea Battle by THERA INTERACTIVE
Synvector by North Souls Games

The AWS Developer Showcase Awards distributed $7,500 in AWS credits. Mirrorbane, presented by Pavel Moskvin, received $5,000, while Midnight Watcher: Village, presented by Kirill Reznichenko, received $2,500.

Six Cyprus Games Industry Awards announced

The Cyprus Games Industry Awards were presented during the WN Networking Party on 17 September. A public vote determined the shortlists before a jury selected the winners in six categories. Companies did not have to be founded or headquartered in Cyprus to qualify, but were required to have a presence on the island and contribute to its games industry.

The 2026 winners were:

Growth and Marketing Partner: OHM Agency
Publisher of the Year: AppQuantum
PC Games Achievement: Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era by Unfrozen
Mobile Games Achievement: Standoff 2 by AXLEBOLT
People and Workplace Award: MY.GAMES
Game Commerce and Payments Partner: Xsolla and Unlimit

The awards covered game development, publishing and the companies providing marketing, employment and payment services to the sector.

WN has provisionally scheduled its next Cyprus conference for 4 and 5 November 2027.

For many of the teams showing their work in Limassol, however, the next milestone remained commercial. The application data indicated that more than four in five were still seeking the investment or publishing relationship needed to take their games further.

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LVMH Revenue Rises, But China Weakness Continues To Weigh On Luxury Giant

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 13, 2026

A Softer Quarter Exposes The Limits Of Luxury’s Recovery

LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group and parent of Louis Vuitton, Dior, Celine and Hennessy, reported revenue of €18.5 billion in the three months to the end of September, underscoring both the scale of its business and the pressure building across parts of the luxury market.

The company’s revenue rose 1.2% year on year in the third quarter, following a 0.1% increase in the second quarter and a 5.9% decline in the first. The trajectory points to stabilization, but not yet to a convincing rebound.

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Organic Growth Misses Expectations

Organic sales growth, which strips out currency effects and portfolio changes, slowed to 1% in the third quarter from 3% in the previous quarter. That result fell short of market expectations and reinforced concerns that the luxury cycle remains uneven.

For the first nine months of the year, LVMH generated sales of €57.1 billion, with organic growth of 2%.

In its statement, the company highlighted the breadth of its portfolio, saying that diversification continues to provide resilience in an uncertain geopolitical and economic environment. That remains one of LVMH’s defining strengths: when one category weakens, another can help offset the downturn.

China Remains The Key Pressure Point

LVMH said sales performed well in the United States, Europe and Japan, but conditions in China remained less favorable. That matters because the country has long been one of the most important growth engines for global luxury brands.

The fashion and leather goods division, LVMH’s most closely watched unit, saw organic sales fall 5% as weaker demand in China weighed on performance. Deutsche Bank said the decline was steeper than the roughly 2% drop expected by analysts.

The segment had delivered its first organic sales gain in two years in the previous quarter, making the latest retreat a notable setback.

Brand Equity Faces A Test In China

The quarter also highlighted the reputational risks facing global brands in China. Louis Vuitton drew criticism after suing local tea company Molly Tea over logo copying. Although the company won the case, the dispute sparked social media backlash and boycott calls, adding another layer of pressure to an already fragile environment.

For a company built on scarcity, aspiration and brand discipline, perception is an asset as valuable as inventory. In a market as digitally connected as China, that asset can shift quickly.

Mixed Performance Across The Portfolio

Not every division weakened. LVMH’s selective retailing business, which includes Sephora, posted an 8% organic sales increase. Watches and jewellery, along with wines and spirits, both recorded 6% organic gains.

That broad mix is precisely what has historically given LVMH an advantage over rivals: it can absorb softness in one category without relying on a single growth driver.

Analysts See A Longer Recovery Ahead

Deutsche Bank analysts said the results could lead to further cuts in earnings forecasts for the second half of 2026 and 2027. They added that it is difficult to see what could improve investor sentiment in the near term.

Still, the bank framed the weakness as cyclical rather than structural. In its view, recovery is taking longer because Chinese demand remains subdued, but the problem does not appear to reflect a permanent deterioration in the brand franchise. Analysts said ongoing brand initiatives are beginning to show results, though improvements are likely to remain gradual.

Investor Pressure Continues To Mount

LVMH’s share price has fallen nearly 40% since the start of the year. In September, L’Oréal overtook the group as France’s most valuable listed company, a symbolic shift that captures how sharply sentiment has changed.

Shares in LVMH were down more than 1.6% in Paris around 10 a.m. CEST following the release.