Games are losing the attention war — and Roblox, TikTok and gambling are winning

Why this matters right now: games aren’t just losing to other games

This caught my attention because the conversation about “games vs games” has been missing the bigger picture: in 2025 players didn’t simply switch to another AAA franchise – they shifted chunks of their time and wallet to platforms and activities that aren’t traditionally considered competitors. Epyllion’s 164-page State of Video Gaming report (led by Matthew Ball) and subsequent coverage show measurable drops in participation and spend across eight major markets while Roblox, TikTok, OnlyFans, crypto, iGaming and betting soaked up billions of hours and dollars.

• Key takeaway: the industry’s core problem is attention and discretionary spend being siphoned off by non‑game entertainment and gambling.
• Roblox isn’t just “another game” – it’s a gigantic attention engine pulling hours away from consoles and PC.
• Publishers will likely lean harder on monetization and live services – and regulators may start paying closer attention to parallels with gambling.

Breaking down the findings

Epyllion’s analysis — summarized in reporting across VidaExtra and other outlets — looks at eight “Major Market 8” countries that once made up over 60% of pre‑pandemic video game spend: the US, Japan, South Korea, UK, Germany, France, Canada and Italy. The headline: in many of these places the share of adults who identify as players has fallen, and spending on PC and consoles has either stalled or dropped. The report pegs US PC/console spend down about 8% since 2020-21 (roughly $2.3bn), and estimates combined console/PC spend across the eight markets shrank by roughly $4.8bn while mobile growth has largely flattened in 2025.

Where attention — and money — actually went

The report’s fourth chapter is the important bit: it ties the decline in gaming engagement to a constellation of competing attention sinks. Short‑form social video use exploded (TikTok consumption in the US rose by an estimated 39 million hours per day versus pre‑COVID baselines). Creator economies diversified beyond ads — TechCrunch highlights creators turning to product lines and fintech plays — which means creators now capture more direct consumer spend.

And then there’s Roblox. Multiple outlets relayed Ball’s figures showing Roblox reaching about 10.2-10.3 billion monthly hours in 2025, with daily and monthly active users surging year‑over‑year (Push Square and 3DJuegos cite a ~69% DAU growth and ~150 million MAUs). To put that in perspective, Roblox’s hours rival — or exceed — the combined engagement of PlayStation, Steam and Fortnite in those reports.

Beyond social and creation, the report points at crypto, prediction markets, sports betting and iGaming as major competitors for both time and discretionary spend. Epyllion cites roughly $5bn in US OnlyFans spending in 2025, near‑billion installs of AI role‑play and erotica apps, 1.5 million prediction market bets per day in Q4 2025, US sports‑betting net losses passing $17bn, and legal iGaming losses in the tens of billions globally. These are not niche blips — they’re recurring revenue streams capturing habitual behavior.

What this actually means for developers, publishers and players

If attention is the scarce resource, business models shift. Expect more publishers to double down on live services, social hooks, creator integrations and recurring revenue mechanics to keep players engaged and monetized. That’s obvious, and it’s partly already happening — but the consequence is a harder landscape for premium, single‑purchase games and independent studios that rely on discoverability and attention spikes.

There are consumer consequences too: more aggressive monetization and design choices that nudge players into repeat spend (and in some cases blur into gambling‑like behaviors). That’s why these trends could draw regulatory scrutiny: loot boxes already invited it; if players are diverting to legal gambling and iGaming en masse, the lines between games and gambling will get messier.

Skepticism and limits

Two cautionary notes: first, the analysis focuses on eight major markets and may understate dynamics in other regions (China’s ecosystem, for example, operates differently). Second, correlation isn’t causation — not every lost hour is “stolen” by TikTok or betting. Still, the scale of the numbers (Roblox’s billions of hours, the billions spent on non‑game platforms) makes a persuasive case that attention competition is a structural challenge, not a temporary distraction.

TL;DR

Games aren’t just competing with other titles anymore — they’re up against social video, creator businesses, crypto and gambling ecosystems that consistently capture time and spend. For players, that means a future with more live services and monetization. For creators and developers, it means adapting to a world where attention is the currency — and losing it has real financial consequences.