K-pop x Gaming

Over the past decade, Korean popular music, or “K-pop”, has transformed from a regional cultural phenomenon into one of the most powerful engines of fandom and monetization in global entertainment. Its uniquely passionate and digital-native audience has not only propelled K-pop artists to dominate international music charts, but has also driven technical innovation in fan engagement. As traditional boundaries between industries erode, K-pop's influence is rapidly expanding across sectors, reaching beyond music to shape fashion, film, and even technology trends across the world.

Amidst this evolution, one frontier remains surprisingly underexplored: the intersection between K-pop and gaming. Despite overlap in fan demographics and shared digital-first cultures, the potential synergies between these two industries have just begun to capture mainstream attention. This week, we will explore why the time is right for K-pop and gaming to converge, what makes this pairing uniquely compelling, and how both industries stand to benefit from deeper, more intentional collaboration.

Why you should be paying attention (tailwinds):

1. Rapid growth of the global fanbase: According to The Korea Foundation and the Korea Tourism Organization, there were only ~4-6 million K-pop fans globally in 2012. This has exploded over the last decade, surpassing over 150 million K-pop fans in 2023 (Korea Foundation, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism). This is reflected even at the highest level of global album sales rankings: 9 of the top 10 albums sold globally in 2023 and 2024 were by K-pop artists.

‍2. K-pop punches above its weight in monetization: In addition to the genre’s high conversion to album sales, its tightly organized, deeply committed fandom (driven by collectibles, live experiences, and unparalleled direct-to-fan engagement) makes each fan 2.5-3.5x as valuable than the average music listener and potentially >50% more valuable than the average gamer.

3. Likely overlap of fanbase with gaming: Despite an abundance of demographic research on K-pop and gamers individually, no global source provides a direct, comprehensive numerical metric quantifying the overlap between these two groups. However, based on our estimates, we believe that ~70% of all K-pop fans are gamers.‍

‍Why Now: An Inflection Point for K-pop x Gaming

‍Due to the genre’s recency, the history of K-pop is colloquially divided into “generations,” where each era is characterized by new strategies to train, launch, and scale.

First Generation - Foundation and Identity (1992-2003): The first generation established the fundamental structure of K-pop, with groups like H.O.T. and S.E.S. laying the groundwork for the template that future boy and girl groups would follow. This generation introduced the trainee system (training pipeline to produce future K-pop idols), the development of the "idol" concept (highly pre-trained group or solo artist), set a primary focus on the domestic market, and established the foundation for fandom culture.

Second Generation - The Hallyu Wave (2003-2012): The second generation marked K-pop's expansion beyond Korea's borders, in particular Japan and China. Groups like TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, and BIGBANG spearheaded the Hallyu (Korean Wave, or the growth of international interest in Korean culture). This generation is characterized by the formalization of professional training systems, the rise of strategic international marketing and global tours, the maturation of synchronized choreography, and the utilization of social media.

Third Generation - Global Breakthrough (2012-2019): The third generation represented K-pop's true global breakthrough. BTS and BLACKPINK emerged as international superstars, with BTS becoming the first K-pop group to top the Billboard Hot 100 and BLACKPINK becoming the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella. This generation was characterized by the mastery of social media and virality, the penetration of the western market, collaboration with international artists, and a maturity of K-pop’s complexity and sound.

Fourth Generation - Digital Dominance (2019-Present): The current generation has embraced digital innovation and global dominance right from the beginning. Groups like Stray Kids, ATEEZ, aespa, and ITZY have achieved international success within months of their debuts (public launch as idols after being trained as trainees), leveraging advanced digital platforms and virtual concepts.

In addition to traditional music and video platforms, agencies launched their own fan community and e-commerce platforms, broadcast platforms, and digital concert streaming platforms. For example, aespa utilizes digital avatars ("ae") as part of their group identity and storylines, extending fan experience into virtual spaces. Some concerts and fan meets now take place in digital spaces, where avatars and fans can interact in real time. For context, aespa’s album Armageddon ranked #9 in album sales globally in 2024.

In short, K-pop’s rapid adoption of cutting-edge technology to scale the genre’s digital presence and appeal has positioned it well in reaching audiences globally.

More Than a Music Genre: Why Gaming Needs to Adopt K-pop

When examining other genres within the international music space, there is one that stands out as a comparable: Latin music. When looking at the #1 music market, the U.S., after English, Spanish and Korean are the two most popular languages in music. K-pop accounted for approximately 3% (or $513m) of the U.S. recorded music industry’s revenue ($17.7bn) while Latin music accounted for 8% (or $1.42bn) in 2024. K-pop however, has an impressive and outsized appeal outside of those who speak the language; there are ~42m Spanish speakers and only ~1m Korean speakers in the U.S.

~98% of Latin music revenue in the U.S. comes from streaming revenue compared to only 10-20% for K-pop. Instead, K-pop derives 70-80% of revenue from physical merchandise and ticket sales. There is significant potential for revenue expansion in both physical and digital spaces for K-pop.

Opportunity based on K-pop demographics: This core foundation in physical merchandise and ticket sales is not going away and will only get stronger. 45% of K-pop fans are Gen Z, who spend 23% more per month than the average U.S. music listener on concerts - notably, more than any other generation.

88% of Gen Z play video games, and >60% of these gamers are payers.

Other entertainment mediums have already started to capture the growing global interest in K-pop. Netflix released an original movie, K-pop Demon Hunters, on its platform on June 20, 2025 and within its first month of release has garnered >80 million views, making the film the fastest growing Netflix animated original of all time. It is set to surpass Leo, the current #1 most watched Netflix animated original film, imminently (>100m views, released November 21, 2023).

The film includes an original soundtrack with songs that were not just inspired by K-pop; they were written and performed by well-known K-pop songwriters and vocalists, including active K-pop idols and producers. The film’s fictional groups (HUNTR/X and Saja Boys) model themselves closely after famous K-pop acts, complete with group choreography, coordinated styling, and the storytelling drama found in K-pop music videos and live performances.

Songs from the film’s soundtrack have >550m streams on Spotify alone, with Your Idol and Golden each reaching #1 on the U.S. Spotify Daily Top Songs chart, the former marking the first time a K-pop soundtrack or a virtual artist has ever achieved this milestone (Forbes). The fictional K-pop boy group, the Saja Boys, is still the highest-charting male K-pop group in Spotify U.S. history (a feat not even reached by the most well-known K-pop group in history, BTS).

The opportunity in gaming: K-pop’s influence today already spans far beyond music into industries such as fashion, beauty & cosmetics, and film. This degree of influence outside of music is rarely seen with western celebrities, with some exceptions such as Rihanna (beauty & cosmetics), Jay-Z (sports, tech, consumer packaged goods, fashion), Ryan Reynolds (sports, alcohol), and Kanye West (fashion). This influence makes K-pop IP extremely flexible in being integrated into gaming as an interactive medium.

Through the longstanding, rigorous trainee programs, the image and story behind K-pop artists are already heavily curated. aespa (and their digital avatars) are evidence that this translates well into the digital realm. Further digitization of K-pop’s footprint has benefits that look very similar to those we have seen in virtual influencers and VTubers: transmedia potential, controllable brand image and lore, and most importantly, scalability.

K-pop can benefit from gaming too. Gaming’s ability to enhance discovery is well-charted in other genres. According to Luminate, hip-hop/rap listeners in the U.S. are 67% more likely than the average to discover music through video games. Existing game platforms, especially those with a strong presence in the West (i.e., English-speaking countries with low penetration of agency-launched fan engagement platforms such as Weverse and Beyond LIVE), are ripe with opportunities to engage new fans. For example, the K-pop group TWICE organized a virtual Meet & Greet with their superfans in Roblox which resulted in a 6.4% increase in their global streams within a week after the event was announced.

Takeaway: K-pop's relentless innovation and global reach have set the stage for a new wave of cross-industry partnerships, with gaming representing the most natural (and potentially lucrative) expansion yet. The tight-knit nature of K-pop fandoms, combined with the interactive and social aspects inherent to gaming, form a powerful foundation for creative collaboration and monetization. As digital engagement becomes increasingly central to both music and games, those who seize the opportunity to bridge these worlds now are poised to unlock new audiences, revenue streams, and cultural impact.