蘑菇AV

Roblox plants deeper roots in the creator economy: The video game platform is at a fascinating crossroads of gaming and digital advertising.

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

Why it matters: Lowe鈥檚 is banking on video games as a path to cultivate digitally native demographics like Gen Z and gather data that will enhance its relationships with these future homeowners and DIYers. More brands are recognizing digital games as a powerful and engaging channel. More than half (57.2%) of the US population will be digital gamers this year, per our forecast.

Gaming offers brands direct access to younger consumers鈥�-nearly 75% of Gen Z will engage in some form of digital gaming by 2027, 蘑菇AV forecasts. The perception that gamers lack purchasing power stems from unnatural product integrations that target them, said Alex Blum, chief operating officer of Unity, which powered the software integration for in-game purchases.

Why 鈥淢inecraft鈥� is succeeding: The movie is based on the best-selling video game of all time, meaning it has a larger鈥攁nd more family-friendly鈥攁udience than other video game adaptations. However, a significant reason behind the success of 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie鈥� is the film鈥檚 massive marketing push, studded by an array of high-profile collaborations and immersive brand tie-ins.

Its gaming portfolio had driven engagement and improved its ad targeting. On its Q4 2024 earnings call on February 12, 2025, AppLovin announced that it had signed a term sheet to sell its portfolio of gaming studios for $900 million. Up until that point, the company owned over 200 free-to-play mobile games that served as valuable data sources for AppLovin鈥檚 ad tech ecosystem.

This makes it a prime candidate for second-screen engagement, whether alongside gaming, streaming, or fandom-driven interaction. Protecting the community: Safety remains a top concern, especially amid public scrutiny.

The feature builds on the popularity of 鈥淭he Six鈥� within Samsung鈥檚 Gaming Hub, where the game saw 42% growth in monthly active users from Q3 to Q4 2024 and nearly 50% growth in early 2025. In early testing, the format delivered a 53% lift in unaided brand recall and was preferred over traditional ads by 89% of viewers, per Samsung and MediaScience research.

Gaming content (moderate disruption). Key market dynamics. YouTube is an increasingly influential鈥攂ut ultimately adjacent鈥攄igital gaming channel. It isn鈥檛 necessarily disrupting gaming advertising, but brands setting ads against gaming-related content are likely attracted to YouTube thanks to its growing audiences. YouTube trails Twitch for livestreaming content.

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.

"That will entail more standardized ad formats, easier tools, better tracking鈥� I think this is going to be a fairly common move by most big game developers.". This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.

ASUS ROG: The major gaming laptop and accessories manufacturer has scaled back laptop sales to the US market. 鈥淏uy鈥� buttons have been replaced by "Notify Me" buttons for various models on its website. 8BitDo and Anbernic: The makers of gaming peripherals and handheld gaming devices have both stopped supplying products to the US market.