Videogames are 'losing in the War for Attention': Analyst says many of the industry's biggest markets are spending less time on gaming

Videogames are ‘losing in the War for Attention’: Analyst says many of the industry’s biggest markets are spending less time on gaming | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these FPS Laid-off Highguard developer cuts loose on the reaction to the infamous Game Awards reveal trailer: ‘We were turned into a joke from minute one’ FPS Highguard didn’t flop Life Sim The cozy game boom is the clearest trend on Steam over five years of data Fighting I don’t understand what Riot wants from 2XKO Third Person Shooter ‘Arc Raiders is almost like a social experiment’: Embark Studios’ CEO reveals a neurology professor encouraged him to submit the game for scientific testing to study player behaviour Hardware Bloomberg claims ‘rampant AI demand for memory’ is forcing Sony to consider pushing back the launch of its next-gen PlayStation as far back as 2029 FPS Geoff Keighley shouldn’t be blamed for Highguard’s failure, Larian publishing boss says: ‘There are genuine villains in this industry but I just don’t see them here’ Roguelike ‘It’s weird in the industry right now’: Cult of the Lamb’s devs still have faith that the indie scene will continue dishing out ‘smash hits’ Gaming Industry Over 50% of game developers now think generative AI is bad for the industry, a dramatic increase from just 2 years ago: ‘I’d rather quit the industry than use generative AI’ FPS ‘We don’t need [player counts] to be super huge in order to be successful’: Highguard devs respond to posters declaring it dead on arrival FPS After playing Deadlock’s new ‘Oops, All Teamfights’ mode, Highguard’s kitchen-sink ruleset feels overwrought Games 2025 was the year friendslop reigned, and so many low-cost ways to have fun with your pals couldn’t have come at a better time AI Google’s new AI ‘world model’ has seemingly spooked videogame investors, but it’s hard to know what it will actually lead to Gaming Industry Ubisoft shares plummet to lowest price in over 14 years amid its recently announced ‘restructuring’ centered on cancellations, layoffs, and generative AI MMO They survived the MMO massacre of 2025, but 2026 is going to be a tense year for WoW and FF14: And for completely different reasons PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Arc RaidersBest PC gearFalloutGame Quizzes Gaming Industry Videogames are ‘losing in the War for Attention’: Analyst says many of the industry’s biggest markets are spending less time on gaming News By Lincoln Carpenter published 18 February 2026 It’s a crowded battlefield. 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From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Increasingly, our digital economies are defined by a contest to capture our attention. A product, service, or platform can get us to keep it on-screen, that’s a gateway to lucrative advertising revenue and monetization opportunities. We’re paying with our attention as much as our money—and according to games industry analyst Matthew Ball, we’re giving less of both to videogames.According to an early access release of Ball’s report on games industry trends in 2025, eight countries—the US, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Germany, France, Canada, and Italy—accounted for over 60% of consumer spending prior to the COVID pandemic. But in the years since, Ball says “the ‘Mature Market 8’ have encountered a severe, persistent, and surprising reality: They are losing in the War for Attention.”Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Epyllion)(Image credit: Epyllion)(Image credit: Epyllion)In half of those countries, surveys show that the number of people who describe themselves as regularly playing videogames is lower today than it was before the height of COVID lockdowns. In the US, data from Circana, the ESA, Ampere, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that “the share of the population that plays games has fallen by 2.5-4 points since before the pandemic,” Ball says. 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