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Netflix wants to turn your TV into a game console: By ditching AAA ambitions and betting on casual, connected TV games controlled by phones, Netflix is playing the long game to capture Gen Z gamers.

Gaming offers a long runway of opportunity for advertisers. In 2025, US digital gamers will spend nearly as much time playing as social network users spend on social platforms each day (1 hour, 48 minutes versus 1 hour, 51 minutes, respectively). But at $8.76 billion, US gaming ad revenues will account for just a fraction of the $102.66 billion that social networks garner in ad spending.

On April 9, Former Meta policy executive Sarah Wynn-Williams told a US Senate subcommittee that the tech company actively targeted teens based on their emotional state. 23% of 13-24-year-olds spend their screen time gaming, followed by 21% who spend it with online video, according to a January 2025 HubResearch Report.

As publishers battle declining revenues, deals with AI firms like OpenAI and Perplexity provide new income streams—and a seat at the table in shaping the industry’s future.

US adults will spend 7 more minutes per day with media in 2024 than they did in 2023, confounding expectations of a post-pandemic reduction in screen and audio time.

Digital gaming is popular across generations. But Gen Zers and millennials are more likely to game on multiple platforms, seek community around the hobby, and pass the habit on to their children.

AppLovin beat Q1 expectations and exited gaming: The company is now all-in on adtech, led by AXON’s rapid growth.

People worldwide spent less time with media across all categories except mobile (which remained the same) in H1 2024 as compared with H1 2023, per GWI data.

AppLovin's Axon engine drives ad success: Its AI-powered product boosted software platform revenues by 66% year over year.

Roblox soars in Q3 despite critical reports: The company saw significant user and revenue growth and restated its commitment to child safety.

Key stat: In-game purchases accounted for 43% of PC and console revenues in 2023, per NewZoo, with gamers spending $50 billion annually. Gaming companies face fallout: The complaint focuses on popular titles like Epic Games’ Fortnite, Microsoft’s Minecraft, and Supercell’s Clash of Clans.

Gen Zers and millennials have normalized gaming into adulthood, but smartphones have opened the door for older generations.

Nearly half (49%) of online gamers are millennials, putting the generation ahead of all others, according to July 2024 data from Comscore.