Interpret

We're excited to see Good Gamer Group's partnership with West Los Angeles College featured in local news! We believe that supporting the future of gaming means investing in the people who will shape it. We're partnering with West LA College to support collegiate esports and game development initiatives, including: 🎮 Sponsoring cross-college esports competitions and local tournaments 🎓 Hosting career and professional development sessions with our team 💡 Exploring opportunities for students to connect with industry professionals through future game development events As a company with roots in Culver City, we're proud to support programs that help students in our local community gain meaningful experience and connections to careers in games and entertainment. Thank you to West LA College for the opportunity to collaborate! We're looking forward to an exciting semester ahead. Read more about the partnership here: https://lnkd.in/g_pKUMcg

The biggest lessons often come from the franchises that continue to succeed year after year. With Resident Evil: Requiem's new content release today and news of it surpassing 8 million copies sold, there's no better time to revisit what continues to make Resident Evil resonate with players. Our Requiem Syndicated Teardown examines the design decisions, gameplay systems, and market strategy behind the game's success. Based on 60+ hours of gameplay analysis, our teardown explores: 📌 How Requiem intentionally balances first-person horror and third-person action to sustain engagement. 📌 How scalable challenge and thoughtful gameplay systems (that still evoke nostalgia) broaden the franchise's appeal without compromising its identity. 📌 Why Capcom's approach to evolving a legacy IP continues to deliver commercial success. inDev's Syndicated Teardowns help development, publishing, and marketing teams understand not just what succeeded, but why. Download a sneak peek or our Requiem teardown here: https://lnkd.in/g7NqReNC Interested in more teardowns? Reach out to our team: https://lnkd.in/eJ9fXNA2

Technological trends are constantly shifting, and the game industry continues to evolve along with the broader tech and entertainment landscape. As console makers ponder the future and what’s best for their respective businesses, there’s been passionate discussion about the importance of physical game discs, both from a collector’s standpoint and an ownership perspective. While digital sales have been on the rise for the past two decades, and there are many who love the convenience of downloads, there’s still a large swath of gamers who strongly desire physical products. In fact, data from Interpret’s 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲® 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 (which tracks 15 international markets) underscores just how important physical game discs have remained for console gamers in numerous regions. Japan, home to Sony, Nintendo, and some of the biggest AAA game studios in the world, is one prominent example. From 2024 to 2025, gamers who purchased digitally downloaded console games remained steady at 14%, on a rolling three-month basis. However, in that same period, those who purchased a physical console game rose from 17% to 21%. Japanese consumers have long had an affection for physical media, and many collectors flock to shops in Akihabara and other major game districts for physical entertainment purchases. Japan may be the most notable market to examine, in part because of its storied video game history and culture, but it’s not the only region where physical discs have accounted for considerable sales. Even in Western markets like France and Spain, physical has slightly edged out digital for console game purchases in 2025. When consumers are given a format choice, the rise of digital has not automatically come at the expense of physical disc interest. This is apparent in both the US and UK, where digital console game buyers rose but more consumers also bought physical discs as well. From 2024 to 2025, digital console game buyers (again on a rolling three-month basis) increased in the US from 30% to 39%, but that didn’t prevent physical console game buyers from also increasing from 21% to 34%. Similarly, in the UK, gamers who purchased digitally downloaded copies jumped from 28% to 39% but those purchasing physical copies also increased from 25% to 31%. While digital is invariably going to become the de facto choice for a majority of consumers, many are still choosing to purchase physical games as well. Even now, in the music industry that went digital decades ago, there’s a rise in Gen Z enthusiasts who are discovering CDs and cassette tapes for the first time, while audiophiles have long had an appreciation for vinyl. As the physical vs. digital games debate carries on, Interpret will continue to gauge the health and consumer interest levels for both formats. Our team of analysts remains devoted to monitoring wider trends impacting gaming and entertainment through our suite of consumer research products and services. 

Anime may still be considered niche by some, but the genre has become increasingly popular outside of Japan. Series like Jujutsu Kaisen, Fire Force, and Witch Hat Atelier have captivated audiences in many countries as they air. According to Interpret’s 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲, Japan remains the market leader with incredibly high engagement (21% of anime viewers watch once per week), but studios looking to expand their audience should not neglect localizing for Western or other markets such as Indonesia, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia. For example, 16% of viewers in the US and France watch anime once a week and that jumps to 19% in the UK. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia also see 16% of viewers watch anime once per week, while that figure rises to over 17% in Brazil. With more genre diversity and emotionally rich storytelling, anime is likely to continue to gain traction worldwide. Interpret’s Animeasure can help IP holders understand the global market and how fans are engaging.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) remains a hot IP more than two decades after the animated series made its debut. With the second season of the live-action Netflix series airing right now, Paramount+ about to release the new Avatar Aang movie, and with the Avatar Legends video game coming out of beta, there are many strong touch points for engagement. Moreover, Interpret’s 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻™ reveals potential for the creators to explore the universe even further. A majority of fans (71%) are open to a new time period or a sequel later in the timeline (which is the Paramount+ movie’s setting); furthermore, 62% are open to a prequel in an earlier timeline and 55% are even open to a new main character. ATLA is a transmedia IP that’s ripe with opportunities.

The industry has been asking how Meccha Chameleon broke through the noise of summer showcase season to sell 15 million copies. At inDev, we've been exploring not only how, but why — so you can learn from it. Our latest Syndicated Teardown examines the market forces, design decisions, and launch strategy that transformed a two-person indie project from Japan into one of the year's biggest global breakout successes. Syndicated Teardowns are objective analyses built for and by game industry professionals. Drawing on full playthroughs, market research, and the collective expertise of veteran journalists and analysts, they explain why games succeed and translate those findings into practical lessons for development, publishing, and marketing teams. Based on 50+ hours of gameplay analysis and extensive research into pricing strategy, creator engagement, and market performance, our latest report explores what drove Meccha Chameleon's momentum and what your team can apply to future launches. Because understanding why a game succeeds is far more valuable than simply knowing that it did. Download a sneak peek of our report: https://lnkd.in/ev3h-dCF Interested in more teardowns? Reach out to our team: https://lnkd.in/eJ9fXNA2

Some of the biggest global entertainment brands have one thing in common: their appeal spans generations and fandom typically starts at an early age. Mario and Star Wars fans, for example, don’t “age out” of their fanship. That's why it's important to attract fans in childhood as you'll keep those fans for life. According to Interpret’s 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻™, the average age of first engagement with Super Mario Bros is just 8.3 years old among fans, while Spider-Man, Sonic, Star Wars, Marvel, and Pokemon all see first IP engagements at just 10 years old. FanVision tracks the world’s biggest IPs across demographics while collecting direct feedback on engagement.

Please welcome our newest member of the Interpret family, Yixin Cui! 🥳

World Cup fever is in full effect as fans gear up this weekend for the final match on Sunday. But what will these soccer fans watch when the tournament's over? Interestingly, Interpret’s 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲® data reveals that World Cup followers in the US have a more diverse TV genre watching habit than that of Super Bowl watchers. For example, World Cup viewers are 70% more likely to watch anime than Super Bowl viewers, 62% more likely to watch travel/holiday shows, 50% more likely to watch fantasy shows, and 27% more likely to watch sci-fi. This suggests that any advertising for shows in these genres during other soccer events could resonate with the audience.

Recruiting the right participants has never been more important — or more challenging. Whether you're testing a new game, measuring franchise health, or researching entertainment audiences, the quality of your insights depends on reaching people with genuine interest and relevant experience. That's why Good Entertainment Group continues to expand its Community Network. Today, we're announcing two new partnerships with Dads of Gaming, the leading US community of gaming parents, and National Student Esports, the UK's largest collegiate esports community. Together, these additions expand our growing network to more than 30 community partners, representing 2.6 million validated entertainment consumers across North America, Asia, and Europe. This means greater access to niche audiences, stronger international recruiting capabilities, and more confidence that participants are genuinely connected to the games, interests, and hobbies they're being asked to evaluate. As entertainment audiences continue to diversify, recruiting through trusted communities helps ensure every study reaches the people who matter most.