Blog: games engagement

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

The games market will grow by 4.6% in 2025 – in line with the global inflation rate

Cover image for The games market will grow by 4.6% in 2025 – in line with the global inflation rate
Rhys Elliott
Business Strategy
Fandom
Games
We just published our flagship games report MIDiA Research’s Global Games Forecasts 2025–2031 and its accompanying dataset. What you need to know: The games market is mature , so double-digit growth is a fantasy and the industry will only see slight growth going forward The global number of gamers will keep growing , but ARPPU will slightly decrease over time due to growing gamer numbers in emerging markets The oversaturation of live services will see the developer pendulum swing back towards premium games on console and PC The mega-budget strategy will slowdown in favour of shorter budgets – outside of the live-service incumbents and a few select “prestige” studios Multi-game subscription user growth is reaching maturity , though revenues will grow via pricing increases (and perhaps ad-based tiers) in the future The report dives into player forecasts , revenue forecasts for software (full-game advertising, and in-game split by cosmetics and progress-based) , hardware (console and XR), and subscriptions – all up to 2031, with platform and regional splits.
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Games report bundle offer – the less you can afford research, the more you probably need it

Cover image for Games report bundle offer – the less you can afford research, the more you probably need it
Karol Severin
gamer insight
games strategy
games production
Part of the festive period is about reflection and new aspirations. I, for one, am eternally grateful that MIDiA works with some of the most successful companies in entertainment. I love that we get to ask a lot of questions, have fascinating discussions, find progressive solutions to business challenges, and help our clients look around the corner to see what’s to come – both in the entertainment market and in entertainment consumers’ minds.
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Quick Take: Regulation and war are leading the global games industry's trajectory to diverge

Cover image for Quick Take: Regulation and war are leading the global games industry's trajectory to diverge
Karol Severin
regulation
Russia
China
Over the last few years, the traditional unit sales-based model in games has been increasingly moving towards engagement-led models. In other words, we are moving away from costly price points to buy complete games – instead the industry is turning towards a set-up, where access to games is more commoditised, with engagement and fandom becoming the key ways to monetise (e.
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The key winners and losers of the Covid-bounce effect in games

Cover image for The key winners and losers of the Covid-bounce effect in games
Karol Severin
games engagement
Fortnite
Roblox
As we have covered before, games engagement began to experience effects of the Covid-bounce . As usual, however, there are winners and losers within the wider micro-dynamics. The following graph demonstrates how 20 key games franchises fared in the US between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021, in terms of consumer penetration growth: Roblox and Rockstar are the biggest winners Roblox grew 49% in penetration year on year.
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