Reports: Xbox

Browse all of our reports, featuring our analysts' expert insights and analysis of audience segmentation, emerging trends and technologies, value chains, market shares, predictions and more – backed by our proprietary survey data and bespoke models & forecasts. Become a subscriber to get new ones every month, or just pick one to get started.

Flipping the script
Game IP transmedia needs to evolve

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Rhys Elliott

May 2025

Amazon

Netflix

Xbox

The entertainment landscape is changing. As superhero fatigue sets in, game IP is now dominating screens, from HBO’s The Last of Us to the Minecraft movie. Unlike movie trends (Westerns, superhero movies), the game-to-movie trend is here to stay, as the games market is a cross-genre treasure trove of beloved IP and fandom, with new IP arriving fr...

MIDiA’s 2025 predictions
It’s social’s stage now

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Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin, Hanna Kahlert, Tatiana Cirisano, Ben Woods, Rutger Rosenborg, Rhys Elliott and Olivia Jones

December 2024

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

The creator economy reshaped entertainment in the first half of the 2020s and social wasthe big winner, now positioned at the centre of the entertainment economy. In 2025 wewill see the second-order effects begin to play out, set against the backdrop of attentionsaturation, content commodification, and increased focus on profit.

The single-player opportunity
Course correcting from a red to blue ocean

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Rhys Elliott

September 2024

YouTube

Netflix

Xbox

The AAA PC and console games market is facing growth issues, money is more expensive, and developers are facing pressure to become leaner, more profitable, and take fewer risks. Many game makers, including those that found initial success in single player, have been chasing the live-service trend.

Not all social entertainment behaviour is created equal
Audience deep dive

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Hanna Kahlert

July 2023

Spotify

YouTube

Xbox

Social is an integral part of entertainment consumption This report presents key data and insights about the advanced overlaps between social behaviour (both on digital platforms and in real life) and entertainment consumption. It looks at data from nine markets, featuring segments of social platform users and the audiences of different forms of en...

2023 MIDiA predictions
Pivot point

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Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Hanna Kahlert, Srishti Das, Kriss Thakrar, Ashleigh Millar, Tatiana Cirisano, Annie Langston, Perry Gresham, Samuel Griffin, Kazia Rothwell and Ben Woods

December 2022

Apple

YouTube

Amazon

In this report, MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, games, marketing, audio and cultural trends in 2023 and beyond. Themes for 2023: Cost-of-living crunch: Entertainment spending will weaken, but some formats will fare better than others Perceived value wil...

Advertising
Marketing in the era of lean through

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Hanna Kahlert

June 2022

Xbox

Twitter

Twitch

Audiences have shifted, first towards the on-demand content delivery model, and now increasingly towards lean-in and lean-through engagement behaviours as a native part of consumption. Advertising strategy and marketing tactics have also had to adapt accordingly.

Profiling single-player versus multiplayer gamers
A generational changing of the guard

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Karol Severin

May 2022

Xbox

Facebook

Twitter

Though single player remains the preferred games genre for now, multiplayer modes are catching up, particularly among younger gamer segments. As audiences age, multiplayer modes will become increasingly important alongside single-player modes. Both segments will remain important for games companies to pay attention to in the mid to long-term.

2021 Predictions
The Year of the Immersive Web

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Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor and Hanna Kahlert

November 2020

Spotify

Spotify

Discovery

In this report MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, brands, marketing, games and sports in 2021 and beyond. Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Amazon...

Next-Generation Consoles
PS5 Starts in Pole Position

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Karol Severin

November 2020

YouTube

Amazon

Xbox

The winter holiday season has always been important for next-generation console launches, but this one is different. Negative effects of the current recession will intensify, engagement will be less predictable and device-agnostic games subscription competition is set to heat up.

2021 Predictions
The Year of the Immersive Web

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Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor and Hanna Kahlert

November 2020

Spotify

Spotify

Discovery

In this report MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, brands, marketing, games and sports in 2021 and beyond. Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Amazon...

Post-Pandemic Programming
Surviving and Thriving in the Recession

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Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor, Keith Jopling and Hanna Kahlert

September 2020

Apple

Apple

live

COVID-19 caused dislocation and disruption to the global entertainment business. Now, the recession and the prospect of further pandemic peaks have created an unprecedented outlook for entertainment companies. Many of the shifts that occurred during lockdown will define the new market dynamics.

Post-Pandemic Programming
Surviving and Thriving in the Recession

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Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor, Keith Jopling and Hanna Kahlert

September 2020

Apple

Apple

live

COVID-19 caused dislocation and disruption to the global entertainment business. Now, the recession and the prospect of further pandemic peaks have created an unprecedented outlook for entertainment companies. Many of the shifts that occurred during lockdown will define the new market dynamics.

Recession Impact
How an Economic Downturn Could Reshape Digital Media

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Alistair Taylor, Amanda Stears, Karol Severin, Keith Jopling, Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan and Zach Fuller

October 2019

Apple

Spotify

Amazon

Ten years on from the credit crunch, the global economy could be poised to enter another economic recession. Many of the underlying causes of the credit crunch remain in place, due to governments lacking the appetite for the structural reform required to right the faults in the global financial system that catalysed the slowdown.

The Games Streaming Subscription Revolution
Meet the Players

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Karol Severin

June 2019

Streaming

Apple

Spotify

Streaming is rewriting the games market rulebook. The games subscription landscape is undergoing foundational changes driven by a growing list of new market entrants including tech majors, telcos, leading games developers and publishers. The rise of games streaming opens doors to device- and platform-agnostic solutions all across the attention econ...

Mapping Daily Active Gamers Across Platforms
Diversity Is The Name Of The Game

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Karol Severin

June 2017

Xbox

Facebook

PlayStation

The Daily Active User (DAU) is a common engagement metric, often used in gauging companies’ performance and value. In gaming, DAUs vary markedly across mobile, PC, console and social. The differences are seen in penetration rates, demographics, engagement and spending trends.

The Emergence Of The Always On Gamer
Profiling Console Owners

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Karol Severin

March 2017

Apple

Google

Apple TV

The game console owner segment is evolving fast. Still relatively young for now, console game fans are both aging and heading towards truly mainstream demographic distribution. Simultaneously, console subscription models are gaining traction, migrating premium physical software budgets into digital spend.

Content Connectors
How the Coming Digital Content Revolution Will Change Everything

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Mark Mulligan

August 2014

Subscriptions

Apple

Spotify

Content Connectors, devices such as Apple TV, Google’s Chromecast, Amazon Kindle Fire TV and Roku, are set to transform the way in which mainstream consumers interact with digital content. Current adopters of these devices are the most valuable paid content consumers across all content genres, not just the video for which Content Connectors are b...