Canada

FANDOM’S INSIDE GAMING REPORT UNCOVERS THE MINDSET & MOTIVATIONS OF GAMERS ACROSS GENERATIONS

Published

2 years ago

April 13, 2023

Video game franchises have taken mainstream media by storm and gaming as a pastime is showing no signs of slowing down – its a hobby that has captured the cultural zeitgeist and crossed generational lines, and there’s no such thing as a ‘typical gamer’ any more. Now more than ever the industry needs to adopt a more nuanced and generational approach to game development & marketing in order to make a true impact with gaming fans.

Fandom’s Inside Gaming report couples Fandom’s robust, proprietary user data with a custom global study that examines how gamer motivations and behaviors vary by generation and provides a playbook for the gaming industry at large on how to truly understand the mindset of a gaming fan. The findings from the 2023 Inside Gaming report will help brands stand out in this increasingly crowded marketplace while giving them the tools to identify, interact and more precisely connect with today’s gaming audience. This deep dive into the generational differences in gaming uncovered findings in three key areas:

Brand & Advertising Impact – examines generational motivations on gaming influence and intent to purchase, as well as which advertiser categories and specific brands are primed to make a huge splash with gamers
Gamer Motivations by Generation – explores the differences between major generational groups and their motivations & influence within the gaming space

Co-Gaming – highlights positive findings around gaming between parents & kids while also providing unique insights to fuel advertising strategies when aligning with families in the gaming space

KEY FINDINGS:

Over the past five years, engagement with gaming has increased across every demographic, platform, and genre – 45% of gamers are spending more time gaming than ever before
80% of gamers of all ages are interested in playing games regardless of whether they are already fans of a franchise – which creates significant opportunities for content creators as they look to mine alternate IP for new gaming franchises
Despite teens and Gen Z spending more time gaming than they did last year, older generations of players are spending more hours per week gaming
Building off that, Millennials are a key (and untapped) audience in gaming – 52% of Millennials rank gaming as their #1 interest

75% of Fandom gamers eat and drink while gaming, making Food & Beverage a key non-endemic category for gamers
More parents and guardians are seeing benefits of gaming with their kids than ever before: co-gaming parents are +83% more likely to agree that gaming fosters leadership skills, +77% more likely to agree it teaches important life skills and +38% more likely to agree it establishes teamwork & collaboration
Top 5 games parents play with their kids are Mario (50%), Minecraft (48%), Roblox (37%), Super Smash Bros (33%) and Kirby (32%)

“More than 150 million gaming fans come to Fandom and our 100K+ gaming communities each month, allowing us to unlock precise and unmatched insights about gamers across generations and platforms,” said Stephanie Fried, Fandom’s CMO. “These new insights into the behaviors, attitudes and perceptions of today’s gamers will enable marketers and studio leadership to drive better fan experiences and incremental revenue.”

The study uncovered huge opportunities for brands to more strategically tap into gaming audiences – namely in the CPG and QSR industries – and identified the generations that represent the biggest untapped opportunity for marketers. Findings include:

Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 (25-26 March)

86% of Fandom gamers are influenced to purchase a brand or product that invests significantly in the gaming space, and nearly half are heavily influenced to do so.
Millennials are the largest untapped target in the gaming space:
40% of Fandom’s Millennial audience spend over 22 hours per week gaming, compared to only 29% of tweens.
Influence to purchase brands that have investments in the gaming space gets stronger with age: Millennials are more than +24% more likely to be heavily influenced to purchase compared to the average user on Fandom.

75% of Fandom gamers eat and drink while gaming, making the Food & Beverage industry one of the most influential outside categories for gamers.
Gamers are +71% more likely to be most inclined to purchase Caffeinated Energy Drinks that heavily invest in the gaming space, ranking highest among F&B categories.
Snacks, soft drinks, and “Heat & Serve” meals trailed with 58%, 42% and 39%, respectively.
Gaming-adjacent items are extremely important to the game-play experience: Fandom gamers rank high speed internet (88%) peripherals (i.e. mouse, keyboard etc.) (74%) and gaming accessories (i.e. gaming chair) (41%) as most critical to their gaming experience

There isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” approach to understanding and marketing to gaming audiences. Motivation and influence vary by generation, so it’s critical to understand the mindset of a gaming fan in order to make a true impact in the marketplace. Findings include:

Overall, 45% of gamers are spending more time gaming; and while Millennials are spending more time gaming per week, the biggest growth in overall time spent gaming vs last year was seen among tweens and teens, with 63% and 48%, respectively.
The top-ranking factors for trying new games are: (1) game quality, followed by (2) storyline & plot, then (3) design and visuals, suggesting that gamers across the board are looking for more immersive and engaging experiences.
Still, younger generations are more likely to be influenced by “cultural hype” while older audiences are more influenced by the immersive and deep characters and storylines.
This points to the importance of building strategies to cater to different audiences – building viral programs that lead to cultural buzz is key to aligning with younger audiences while building programs that allow players to immerse themselves in the universe & connect to the characters and storyline is key for older audiences.

The top-ranking overall motivations for Fandom gamers are:
Stress relief (48%)
Relaxation (47%)
Escapism (45%)
Younger generations of gamers are more interested in competitive gaming and making social connections, while older gamers gravitate more toward games with potential for intellectual stimulation.
Among gaming genres, adventure, sandbox, survival and fighting games are most popular with Fandom gamers of all ages.
Tweens, however, are most likely to play battle royal (49%), racing (46%) and survival games (39%); while millennials gravitate more toward MMO (41%), strategy (27%) and RPG (26%) genres, with games like Elden Ring or World of Warcraft.
The biggest drivers for Gen Z and Millennials are character and storyline, with rich and complex backgrounds; while younger gamers gravitate more toward competitive games, with an emphasis on coordinated teamwork.

With the gaming industry booming, time spent gaming increasing, and gaming IP’s seeing huge success crossing over into TV and movies, gaming as a pastime is here to stay. Interestingly, the findings uncover benefits for parents co-gaming with their kids, as well as co-gaming motivations by age group:

Within the co-gaming ecosystem, gaming isn’t the only motivator for parents and their children. They also enjoy discussing strategy (47%) and research (37%).

Parents who choose to game with their kids do so for these main reasons:
As a fun activity to do together (56%)
Kids ask them to play (44%)
Parents are avid gamers themselves and want to continue the trend (41%)
Age does affect behavioral motivations in co-gaming, particularly among parents with children aged 3-8 as they are +89% more likely to co-game in order to better understand the content of the games their kids are playing.

Parents of teens are +46% more likely to play games with their kids.

The top-ranking benefits of gaming for parents include:
Establishes teamwork and collaboration (33%)
Teaches important life lessons (26%)
Fosters leadership skills (25%)
The leading games for parents to co-game with kids 7-12 years old are Super Smash Brothers, Fortnite and Roblox.
Parents who co-game with their teenage children aged 13-17 play Rocket League, Cuphead and Splatoon.

Methodology:

The 2023 Inside Gaming report identifies macro-level entertainment patterns and trends based on a survey of 15,000 Global Fandom users. These insights were validated and deepened through Fandom’s robust user data – more than 350 million monthly unique visitors, 45 million pages of content across 250,000 wikis – and qualitative and quantitative insights from Fandom’s proprietary fan panel. This methodology provides a 360-degree view of what’s happening in the gaming landscape through the eyes of Fandom.

Canada

Northern Super League Partners with Stats Perform

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2025

GamingAmericas.com

northern-super-league-partners-with-stats-perform

Stats Perform, the global leader in sports AI, data and technology, has announced an official data partnership with the Northern Super League (NSL). The partnership will allow world-leading Opta data to be collected live from every NSL league game for the next three years.

Beginning this month, the Northern Super League (NSL) establishes a new era in Canadian sport as the country’s first professional domestic women’s soccer league — an ambitious and transformative initiative co-founded by former Canadian international and Olympic medallist Diana Matheson. Its inaugural season kicks off on April 16 and will feature six teams who have assembled multinational player rosters with extensive club and international experience, including 100-cap Canadian internationals Desiree Scott and Quinn.

Once the action begins, detailed data from every on-ball event, including advanced AI-powered Opta Analytics metrics such as Expected Goals (xG) and Expected Assists (xA), will be captured and distributed via feeds and Stats Perform products, including OptaAI Studio. This will enable various broadcasters, publishers and rights holders to generate stories and insights throughout the NSL season and provide them straight to the league’s fans in real time.

As part of the agreement, the NSL’s League Office and every NSL club will also have access to Opta Search, part of OptaAI Studio. This will allow their content creators to leverage all Opta data collected during the NSL season in the creation of data-led stories on the stand-out performers, and will help them generate key talking points for publication on official league and club platforms. Opta Search will also empower the NSL’s media team to create a range of data visualizations, including player shot maps and touch maps, to visually illustrate the impact of different players’ on-field performances.

Christina Litz, NSL President, said: “We are thrilled to have Stats Perform on board as our official data partner. When we talk about detailed performance data in soccer, Opta is the gold standard, so we are delighted to have it powering each of our official digital channels. As the season progresses, we want to put the spotlight on all the on-field heroes who emerge and having access to world-class data will help us tell their stories and inspire a new generation of Canadian soccer fans.”

Steve Xeller, Chief Revenue Officer at Stats Perform, said: “Stats Perform has been a huge supporter of expansion leagues around the world, so we are very pleased to be partnering with NSL in the lead-up to their first domestic campaign. Seeing a fully professional women’s soccer league launch in Canada is an incredibly exciting development for the sport in North America and we see considerable potential in working proactively with the League’s Head Office to help the competition grow, using the power of AI and data-led storytelling to build fan communities across the continent.”

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Africa

INCENTIVE GAMES SIGNS EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION DEAL FOR NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, SOUTH AFRICA AND UK WITH LIGHT & WONDER

Published

2 weeks ago

April 14, 2025

George Miller

incentive-games-signs-exclusive-distribution-deal-for-north-america,-europe,-south-africa-and-uk-with-light-&-wonder

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Leading B2B games provider, Incentive Games, today announced its new agreement with premium gaming company and content provider Light & Wonder, Inc.

Through this agreement, Incentive Games will distribute its premium pay-to-play games – including new arcade-style titles – to key global regulated markets including the USA, Canada, South Africa, UK, and within Europe via Light & Wonder’s extensive operator network. Additionally, Incentive Games’ popular free-to-play content will be made available to a wider audience through Light & Wonder’s content marketplace.

The agreement brings together two industry leaders in iGaming and the strengths of both companies to deliver exceptional player experiences and elevate customer engagement.

Ahmed Baker, Chief Commercial Officer at Incentive Games said, “This agreement is a landmark moment in our company’s history. Previously, we’ve worked directly with major operators such as bet365, FanDuel, and Sky Bet. Now, we can distribute our games via Light & Wonder, an exceptional aggregator that we trust will handle our games with care.”

Steve Mayes, Senior Director of Partners at Light & Wonder, said: “We are excited to work with Incentive Games, a leader in gamification solutions. We look forward to leveraging their innovative platform and bringing their customisable crash and fast game content to all major regulated markets.”

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Aaron LaBerge

PENN Entertainment Launches Stand-alone iCasino App, theScore Casino, in Ontario

Published

2 weeks ago

April 10, 2025

GamingAmericas.com

penn-entertainment-launches-stand-alone-icasino-app,-thescore-casino,-in-ontario

PENN Entertainment announced that it has launched theScore Casino, a new stand-alone iCasino app in Ontario. The dedicated online casino experience leverages the popular theScore brand, which has been a mainstay in the Ontario market for decades. Now available on Android, iOS, and desktop, customers can login using their existing theScore Bet credentials, allowing for a seamless experience across online gaming platforms.

theScore Casino operates on the same cutting-edge proprietary technology platform as PENN’s online Hollywood Casino, which launched as a standalone product in the US in December. The product was recently ranked by Eilers & Krejcik as the #2 overall iCasino product in the US.

theScore Casino, also available within theScore Bet app, offers a variety of online slots, table games, and live dealer content, including original titles from PENN Game Studios, the company’s in-house game development studio. theScore Casino also includes bespoke live dealer tables and exclusive games such as Blue Jays Blackjack, an original title leveraging theScore Bet’s partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“We’re excited to introduce our dedicated iCasino product in Ontario under the well-known and trusted theScore brand. We’ve built a strong online gaming foothold in the Ontario market and are primed to deliver an even better casino experience with our proven stand-alone app. Our customer-friendly platform features more than 1200 games, dozens of original titles and intuitive game play that distinguishes our product and positions us for even greater success,” said Aaron LaBerge, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Interactive at PENN Entertainment.

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