Gamers are losing the attention war — and companies are getting ruthless

Video games are losing the attention war – and that’s why monetization is getting nastier

This caught my attention because it flips a familiar story: it’s not that there are too many games – it’s that games are competing for a shrinking slice of attention. Matthew Ball’s early 2025 forecast, reported by VidaExtra and discussed in PC Gamer, shows that in key markets the share of adults who identify as gamers is falling, while spending on PC and console has stagnated or declined. The industry response? Push harsher monetization at the remaining players.

• Key takeaway: Ball says attention is shifting to short-form video, OnlyFans, sports betting and crypto – and games are losing.
• Result: Firms double down on monetization of a smaller player base, which raises the chance of aggressive live-service and microtransaction strategies.
• Why it matters now: 2025 data shows real declines in player populations and four years of flat or falling PC/console spending in major markets.

Breaking down Ball’s 2025 numbers

Ball looked at eight markets that once represented over 60% of pre-pandemic consumer spend: the US, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Germany, France, Canada and Italy. The snapshot isn’t pretty. In half of these countries fewer adults now say they play games. South Korea shows the steepest drop — about a 15% decline compared to the 2017-2019 period. Italy’s adult player rate is down more than 5% since 2019. The UK was an exception after the pandemic, with player numbers rising roughly 21%, but that growth has slowed year-on-year.

Only France, Germany and Japan show small increases in player rates — and Ball points out those gains are marginal given those countries’ population sizes. The more worrying signal: combined consumer spending on PC and console hardware/software has been flat or falling over the last four years. That’s not a minor wobble; it changes the math of how studios and publishers plan to make money.

Why the attention economy is reshaping game business models

Ball bluntly links the decline to new leisure and entertainment formats. Short-form video platforms like TikTok, subscription-driven adult platforms such as OnlyFans, sports betting apps and crypto products are pulling time and money away. He notes that American men aged 18-35 are “up to 3.6 times more likely to use short-form video, OnlyFans, AI and prediction markets” — a succinct way to show where engagement has migrated.

He also describes the ecosystem that comes with these services: “a barrage of new, interruptive and irresistible notifications.” That constant, low-effort dopamine loop is exactly the kind of attention-grabbing surface that games now have to fight. And fighting back often means mimicking the same mechanics that made those other platforms profitable: frictionless purchases, recurring subscriptions, and frequent, bite-sized monetization hooks.

What this means for gamers — and the industry

Translation for players: expect more pressure to spend. Ball warns of “greater monetization of the (fewer and fewer) remaining players,” and we’re already seeing that trend in practice — battle passes, seasonal content gated behind paywalls, more aggressive post-launch monetization, and gambling-adjacent mechanics designed to drive repeat spend. When the pool of active players shrinks, average revenue per user becomes a lifeline; companies chase revenue where attention still exists.

The consequences are twofold. For consumers there’s fatigue and irritation — wallet fatigue and the sense that fewer new experiences can break through because attention is splintered. For developers and smaller studios the business becomes riskier: fewer breakout hits, longer timelines to recover costs, and an incentive to design for the highest-spending 10% instead of a broad audience.

Looking ahead: how players should read this

If Ball is right, the next few years will be a test of whether the games industry adapts without eroding consumer trust. That could mean better integration with shorter, snackable experiences on mobile, smarter cross-platform discovery, or—if the worst-case scenario plays out—an escalation in predatory monetization. Gamers should be prepared for more choices that look convenient but are designed first to capture dollars and micro-attention.

TL;DR: Attention is the scarcest resource now, not creative ideas. That scarcity is already nudging companies toward uglier monetization tactics to squeeze revenue from fewer players — and unless the industry finds healthier ways to share attention, the player experience will suffer.