Welcome welcome. Edition #85 of The SEG3 Report at your service!

Before we dive in - just four weeks stands between us and SEG3 Los Angeles. Join the likes of Nike, Hasbro, EA, LiveNation, UMG and more that’ve registered over the past 48 hours ⤵️

What you’ll find in Edition #85:

1. Why gaming advertisers need to rethink “Premium Media Buys”

2. Story Kitchen to adapt Roblox game Grow a Garden into film

3. G2 Esports launch webcomic series, Red Aura

Why gaming advertisers need to rethink “Premium Media Buys”

What does “premium” really mean in gaming media? Are advertisers mistaking familiarity for quality? If major gaming sites restrict data, block measurement and lose nearly half their impressions to ad blockers, can they still be called premium?

TL;DR:

• There’s two key challenges; walled gardens and weak measurement.
  

• Five ways to find real performance in gaming:
  - Prioritize platforms that can verify ads have been seen.
  - Depth of engagement beats reach.
  - Value over volume - focus on audiences with spending power.
  - Communities create credibility - find the sharers!
  - Context beats placement.

In digital advertising, “premium” has long been shorthand for quality, a proxy for reach, brand safety, and association with recognizable brand names.

In gaming, that’s often-meant review and news-based publisher portals, community platforms or influencer networks that promise scale and celebrity-driven prestige. But behind this veneer of “premium” lies a stubborn truth: most of these platforms restrict data, block outside measurement, limit targeting precision, and often let users block ads entirely.

For marketers, that means less data, lower engagement, and higher real world per-impression or per-engagement costs. It’s time to redefine what “premium” means in gaming media.

Why does it matter?

Because when you look closer, two core issues emerge that explain why “premium” often under delivers in gaming media:

1 - It becomes a walled garden

Many major gaming sites and apps prohibit third-party tracking, restrict audience insights and wall off the data that drives optimization and ROI. The result is an environment that looks brand safe but leaves marketers flying blind.

And ad blocking compounds the issue. Across desktop, as many as 40% of users employ ad blockers, meaning nearly half of all “served” impressions are never actually seen. Yet advertisers keep paying inflated actualized CPMs simply because these environments feel familiar and “safe” - yet what they’re buying isn’t performance, it’s just comfortable, familiar and often unchallenged due to the logo.

2 - The measurement mirage

Inconsistent measurement and limited transparency further inflate the illusion of premium value. Globally, average viewability hovered around 76% in late 2023 — meaning a quarter of all ads were never viewed. Consider an average “premium” gaming site where a $5 CPM ad may only achieve 60% viewability during a brief 12-second visit. Brands end up paying full price for half-visible or blocked impressions.

Now compare that with options such as videogame clipping platform Medal.tv, where viewability nears 100%, impressions are unblockable, and sessions can last hours (not seconds), and the contrast in attention and engagement is striking — yet the investment remains similar.

So, what needs to change to improve the gaming ad economy?

From our research and experience, instead of just focusing on reach, familiar logos, or name-brand publishers when exploring gaming media options, we can re-set the expectations and metrics by prioritising these five things:

1 - Unblockable, Fully Viewable Impressions

→ Be sure you are not subject to browser-based ad blockers. With many desktop platforms, it is possible to ensure every impression is served, seen, and measurable, offering full delivery and accurate attribution.

Tip: Look for environments that guarantee visibility and allow independent verification, because true “premium” starts with being seen.

2 - Deep Engagement and Long Sessions

→ The average game clipper spends hours creating and sharing highlights — a lean-in experience that drives industry-leading completion and viewability rates. Messages aren’t just delivered; they’re absorbed.

Tip: When assessing partners, prioritize formats that keep users active and emotionally involved rather than passive or fleeting impressions.

3 - Demand High-Value, High-Spending Audiences 

→ From our data on Medal.tv, we’re seeing users spend 10–22% more on in-game purchases than the average gamer, and nearly twice as much on electronics, travel, and dining. Our community is tech-forward, experience-driven and influential across categories.

Tip: Whether through first-party data or independent research, brands should verify that the audience aligns with their target profile and demonstrates proven spending power.

4 - Grassroots Influence at Scale

→ Eighty-five percent of Medal.tv gamers are also active on Discord, sharing clips and highlights organically. Each moment becomes authentic peer-to-peer influence that paid campaigns alone can’t replicate.

Tip: Seek out audiences that naturally amplify messages and want to share with their communities. They’ll add more fuel to your fire than you’d ever be able to alone!

5 - Emotional Timing and Brand Adjacencies That Matter

→ Place your brand in the moments when gamers are most emotionally engaged — reliving victories, sharing highlights or connecting with friends. That’s when attention and brand resonance peak.

Tip: In practice, this means buying not just placement, but context — being present when players are celebrating rather than distracted.

Closing Thoughts

The gaming ad economy is overdue for recalibration. For too long, brands have equated “premium” with “familiar,” rewarding legacy publishers even as engagement and transparency have eroded. But attention — the true currency of modern advertising — has migrated. It now lives inside the game, in the community, and within creator ecosystems that platforms like Medal.tv enable. As marketers embrace outcome-based planning, “premium” will no longer mean where an ad appears, but how much attention and influence it commands.

Advertisers face a clear choice: keep paying inflated CPMs for impressions that may never be seen, or invest in environments where every view is real, and every user is both audience and advocate. For brands seeking transparency, connection, and performance, the message is simple: it’s time to play where the real attention lives.

[ Written by: Yuriy Yarovoy - SVP, Revenue - Medal.tv ]

Story Kitchen to adapt Roblox game Grow a Garden into film

Story Kitchen, the studio behind adaptations of Tomb Raider, Life Is Strange, Just Cause, and SEGA classics like Streets of Rage and Shinobi, is developing a feature film adaptation of the hit Roblox game Grow a Garden, working alongside the game’s creators.

TL;DR:

• UGC platforms let creators test ideas fast, but speed doesn’t guarantee staying power.

• The franchises that succeed will have:

  • Staying power: consistent audience loyalty.

  • Depth of story: strong game mechanics and rich lore.

  • Community: active fans creating content around the IP.

  • Scalability: ability to expand beyond any one singular platform’s culture.

• Expect more M&A, more UGC-first experimentation and more adaptations as studios race to find the next breakout franchise.

A REALLY fascinating week at the intersection of entertainment and UGC gaming.

Firstly, Universal Pictures partnered with Voldex to bring Wicked for Good to Brookhaven.

Then Wind Sky Sun Entertainment partnered with Badimo to adapt popular game, Jailbreak, into a movie.

And following in the same vain, Story Kitchen have teamed up with the developers of Grow a Garden to adapt the sensation for the big screen.

So, why does it matter?

UGC environments, whether content or games, have become the new hotbed for IP creation.

The tools, and built-in audiences, that platforms like Roblox offers means creators can quickly test new concepts, stories and mechanics. They can launch, get fairly instantaneous feedback/data, and then decide if the metrics warrant more of a time and resource investment - all within a couple of weeks rather than months vs years.

This speed of iteration and validation is a dramatic shift in how traditional entertainment or game IP is developed and discovered.

With that said however, speed doesn’t necessarily equal staying power.

Building an evergreen IP takes time, depth and careful worldbuilding - so whilst growth of audience alongside loyalty is imperative for sustainability of any franchise, there are some important questions about what makes something like Grow a Garden or Jailbreak truly adaptable.

And those are:

Staying power - are players returning? why are they returning? if it’s built around a trend, how much longevity can that have? what % are converting to paying users?

Depth of story - does the game have the right mechanics to be adapted? is there enough lore to design a compelling storyline? if there is success, how much realistic runway could there be for a sequel without extending the IP beyond its capabilities?

Community - how much fan-made content is being created? mods? all good indicators of whether an audience is craving more and has fandom around the IP.

Scalability - is the IP too niche to attract the casual fan that isn’t eating, living and breathing Roblox and it’s culture? can the story be adapted well to other mediums without losing its identity?

And there are many more - but you get the idea.

These questions matter because they don’t just determine whether a single game can make the leap to film/tv - they’ll shape whether the wider industry begins to treat UGC as a legitimate IP pipeline (or not).

Because if the next generation of franchises are being born inside platforms like Roblox, then the systems around them i.e funding, M&A, development and distribution, will inevitably start to evolve too.

The knock on effects of that being:

1 - More M&A activity in UGC gaming
→ As more seasoned operators see potential in nascent IP, they will look to acquire and put the infrastructure around them to grow users and monetise more effectively i.e. likes Voldex & Brookhaven, which we covered in Edition #46.

2 - UGC first, everything else afterwards
→ When the cost of failure is minimal in comparison to traditional routes of building new IP, the smart move is to test a number of concepts based off of your assumptions, and then back the horse that you’ve seen positive engagement from users on. It lowers risk.

3 - More and more Roblox-native IP to film adaptations are coming
→ This is just the start, and given the rabid fandom around many experiences, there will be appetite from studios and producers to adapt these games for film & TV. But audiences are fickle, and if games without the right mechanics and depth of story are wrongly adapted (which will almost certainly happen), there may well not be an audience playing the game by the time the film/series comes out.

Closing Thoughts

UGC’s power is also its pitfall to some regards. With new content and games popping up daily, are users and players conditioned to be always looking for the next best thing? If an adaptation takes years to hit the screens, will audiences still care? What can be done in between times in-game and across different mediums to maintain that connection with fans, and build momentum leading up to the release?

Because as we all know, the reality for any brand or IP is that if you can’t capture and retain attention, you’re dead in the water.

And so for those IP born in UGC environment that can prove long-term retention and world depth, there’s huge opportunity today to expand. But these creators will likely need help to scale & monetise - and that’s where seasoned operators will step in to acquire and grow the next-generation of franchises.

G2 Esports launch webcomic series, Red Aura

G2 Esports has launched Red Aura, a fantasy-action webcomic series created with Japanese art director Runbel and KISAI Entertainment. The series debuted on October 31st 2025, on LINE MANGA in Japanese, with English and other language releases planned via WEBTOON. Season 1 will span over 40 episodes, following the character Asa in a magical world inspired by G2’s journey.

TL;DR:

• G2 are continuing to expand beyond esports from football to their new manga-inspired comic series Red Aura.

• Anime, manga and webtoons are breaking out of their “niche” phase, and have huge crossover potential with gaming and youth culture.

• Red Aura helps G2 reach new audiences through storytelling, not just competition.

• Smart brands are thinking in tiers: core (diehards), casual (curious fans), and crossover (new cultural touch points).

G2 have been expanding their IP far beyond esports over the past 12 months.

First, they launched G2 Football Club into Kings League Germany (which we covered in Edition #54).

Now, they’ve lent into their brand story to develop their own comic series, Red Aura.

Why should you care?

Anime/manga/webtoons are perhaps in the same spot gaming was a few years back - seen as only relevant to a niche audience, but actually having much greater global cut-through and cultural relevance than many realise.

Tapping into that fandom helps to put G2, and their brand story, in front of a complementary audience, whilst opening up a new medium.

And it reminded me of one of our next Speakeasy episodes (yes, more are coming very soon!), around the casual fan vs the hardcore conversation.

One sustains your revenues, whilst one expands your reach. But both are vitally important for the short and long-term health of any brand/IP.

So leaning into mediums that allow you to tell new stories increases your surface area, and can therefore offer a casual entry point for fans to be part of your ecosystem.

And that’s a big opportunity for growth.

Check out how Stéphanie Giardina’s post on how Volleyball World lent into this casual fan strategy to grow their TikTok channels ⤵️

And so, what could your Red Aura look like?

I think the smartest marketers today are thinking in tiers:

1 - Core: what’s the competition and culture that’s driving your diehards?

2 - Casual: what are the lighter-touch content and storytelling opportunities that invite new fans into your ecosystem?

3 - Crossover: what are the collaborations, formats and mediums that make you discoverable outside your vertical?

This launch from Red Aura sits perfectly in that second and third layer - discoverable, easily consumable, but still allows fans to emotionally connect to G2 without having to follow every match.

Closing Thoughts

In today’s fragmented world, not every fan will tune in for match day (or want to), and that’s okay.

G2 are leaning into that with Red Aura - building stories that live beyond the game, gives casual fans a way in, and offers existing ones more ways to stay connected.

In other news this week:

• LEGO launches Derby Event in Driving Empire: read here.

• King works with Thundercat for annual music season in Candy Crush: read here.

• SAGAFTRA releases 2025 interactive agreement, with AI provisions: read here.

• Bobby Hundreds releases Disney x F1 merch: read here.

• Toca Boca Jr Classics launches onto Apple Arcade: read here.

• NBA invests in AI-start up to make game scheduling easier: read here.

• Disneyland launches Game Rush in Fortnite: read here.

• Manchester City FC partners with Football Manager 26: read here.

• Football Manager 26 is now available on Netflix mobile: see here.

• Pokemon TCG made $1.3b in first year alone: read here.

• Tiktok launches podcast network with iHeartMedia: read here.

• Baller League partners with YBVR’s Xtadium: see here.

• FIS (International Ski Federation) launches weekly podcast: read here.

• Peugeot & Gameloft for Brands partner to launch Fornite map: read here.

• Global launches sports branded entertainment division: read here.

• Sportradar launches Futures Hub for venture clienting: read here.

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!

That’s all for now everyone - thanks again for reading the latest edition of The SEG3 Report, and if you found it of interest, please do consider sharing with a colleague or friend!