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Introducing Gaming Futures: Where Culture, Fandom and IP Collide

By Adam Cunningham, Chief Strategy Officer

Help me, AlliedGPT

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TL;DR

• The highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 released last week, selling out within hours, with over 13M players expected to purchase the console in 2025. (gamesindustry.biz)

• AMC Networks struck a deal with generative AI firm, Runway, planning to use the tech to both generate marketing images and help pre-visualize shows that have yet to be produced. (THR)

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  New data from Antenna shows that the number of ad-supported streaming subscribers has nearly doubled since 2023 to 100M users, and among SVOD services, Hulu has the most ad-supported subs with 24% market share. (Media Play News)

Agency updates

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  Our US Gaming team secured an exciting partnership between Beard Papa's and HoYoverse's Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) for “Operation Yum!” where fans can enjoy ZZZ-themed cream puff combos, merchandise, and in-game rewards at 35+ US locations. Campaign elements also include a special Anime Expo event, social media support, website placement, publicity, sweepstakes, and livestream inclusion.

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  Our Field Marketing team brought Disney's Lilo & Stitch to Hawaii's local community where fans could celebrate story, culture, and community through immersive local experiences. The campaign included talent broadcast interviews and a panel at HIFF's ʻŌpio Fest that brought the cast and student filmmakers together in an inspiring conversation on creativity and representation.

Interesting campaigns / creative

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  Progressive teamed up with “Superman” in a new campaign featuring Flo and her team of apron-wearing insurance agents stepping up to safeguard people from everyday headaches, like needing to call in a tow truck after an accident. (Marketing Dive)

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  Kinder Chocolate debuted the brand’s first campaign since its US launch in 2023, featuring a 30-second spot, “Cowboys,” that brings to life a child’s imagined version of how the confection is made (it includes talking cows and a chocolate river). (Marketing Dive)

Audiences

• US consumers list good quality (69%), fair price (63%), and reliability and durability (46%) as the top considerations when making a purchase over sustainability (10%) and locally made (20%). (Marketing Dive)

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  44% of US adults are somewhat or very likely to use an AI tool like ChatGPT or Copilot to research potential purchases. (EMarketer)

• 66% of US consumers said they often discover TV or film content on YouTube, and 61% said they include YouTube as part of their regular streaming routines. (Media Play News)

• 40% of US TV viewers said they use FAST services to watch live content, more than the 36% who said they use cable or satellite services. (TV Technology)

Platforms

• Snapchat launched a new standalone Lens Studio mobile app, which aims to make it easier for people to build their own AR experiences. (Social Media Today)

• Meta’s planning to enable fully automated ads by 2026, which will see advertisers activate a campaign by simply inputting their business URL, then letting Meta’s AI creative and targeting systems do the rest. (Social Media Today)

• Pinterest announced it's stepping into the sports arena as an official partner of 2024 WNBA Champion, New York Liberty. (Pinterest)

Content

• John Wick spinoff "Ballerina" is projected to open at $28M from 3.4K North American locations in its first weekend of release and is expected to add another $30M at the international box office. (Variety)

• Major League Baseball’s viewer numbers in the United States and Japan during the first two months of the season have seen double-digit increases. (NBC)

• Country music's popularity has surged due to social media and streaming platforms, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to an increase in attendance at events like the CMAs. (Tennessean)

Tech & AI

• Reddit sued Anthropic, alleging its bots accessed Reddit more than 100K times since last July. (The Verge)

• OpenAI is rolling out a “lightweight version” of the memory improvements it launched in April for paying customers to its free user tier. (The Verge)

• Perplexity received 780M queries in May and is seeing more than 20% growth month-over-month according to CEO Aravind Srinivas. (Tech Crunch)

Location-based entertainment

• A new report from Oxford Economics has found that Disney’s parks in Florida and California generate nearly $67B for the US economy every year. (Blooloop)

• DreamPark has revealed plans to create the world’s largest XR theme park by transforming ordinary spaces into immersive experiences. (Blooloop)

• FIFA has drastically reduced the cost of tickets to the Club World Cup’s opener on June 14 to less than 17% of the original price. (Ticketing Business)

Travel & hospitality

• Australians' travel intent has surged, with more than one-quarter (28%) planning to take three or more trips in 2025. (Karryon)

• After announcing a partnership with United Airlines last week, Jet Blue Travel Products has dropped the airline's name and rebranded as Paisly LLC. (Skift)

• Interest in all-inclusive resorts is increasing among Gen Z, with 42% saying that an all-inclusive resort would be their preferred hotel type. (Expedia)

Gaming

• 64% of Americans play video games for more than an hour a week, and 83% of US households played at least one video game in the past year. (Gamesindustry.biz)

• A new report shows that the Asia, Middle East, and North Africa (MENA) games markets generated $86.6B from player spending on software and services in 2024, marking a 1.4% increase YoY. (gamesindustry.biz)

• PlayStation's annual State of Play, with a record-breaking 2.2M live viewers, showcased new releases from Capcom and Square Enix, along with all-new trailers. (IGN)

Mental health

• What's your stress personality? Take this quiz to find out and learn how to manage your stress in a way that works for you.

• This article explains that the key to managing emotional distress lies in our personal awareness, or “window of tolerance.”