• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, October 1, 2025

Advertising disruption of video gaming is getting worse, according to new poll of gamers -- while at the same time, more of them are engaging with that in-game ad content.

Now, 65% of gamers say “ads interrupt my gaming experience, according to a new Bain & Co. report -- up from 59% a year ago.

Another 15% disagree, while 21% say they do not agree or disagree -- down from 18% and 23%, respectively.

At the same time, the research shows gamers are making more in-game purchases based on in-game ads -- now 46%, up from 40%.

The earlier April poll by Bain & Co. of 5,252 consumers found that of the 33 weekly hours that consumers spend with a broad range of media platforms (TV/video, audio, social media, and video games), 11% of the media time in those polls involves users playing video games. But increasingly, Bain says, gaming activity isn’t just for those playing games.

“Consumer survey data highlights that players now spend nearly as much time engaging with gaming-related content as they do actually playing; a significant structural shift in how audiences interact with games.,” according to Clay Griffin, media analyst of MoffettNathanson Research, in analyzing the Bain data.

Bain calls this "gaming IP," and says it can appear on Twitch or YouTube, or come via musician soundtracks on Spotify.

Roblox recently started "Roblox Moments" where users can create and share short-form videos on the Roblox platform.

The research comes from a May 2025 poll of 5,243 gamers 13 years and older.

Bain expects rising video game advertising revenue (among higher emerging market businesses) will be a key growth driver for the business in the near term.

After a few years of volatile video-gaming business -- following the COVID-19 pandemic -- analysts expect video game business overall to resume some modest growth in the coming years -- expecting revenues to improve 4% annually through 2028.

Last year, the video-game market was up 5% to $219 billion.

Bain says much of the growth comes from the area of “games as a platform,” which includes platform brands Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft.