As domestic game usage falls to the lowest level in 10 years, signs are growing that games are no longer at the center of mainstream leisure. As OTT and short-form video and artificial intelligence (AI)-based services rapidly replace leisure time, analysts say this also reveals the limits of a game industry that has focused on repetitive revenue models.
According to the "2025 game user survey" released by Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) in Dec. last year, the game usage rate among Korea's population was 50.2%, the lowest since related statistics began in 2015. The game usage rate, which reached 74.4% in 2022, plunged to the 50% level in three years.
Even considering that game usage temporarily rose into the 70% range from 2020 to 2022 due to social distancing during COVID-19, the recent decline is clear compared with the pre-pandemic trend, which had remained above 60%.
The biggest reason gamers are leaving games is the spread of alternative leisure. Among 1,331 respondents who said they found activities to replace games, 86.3% chose viewing-centered content such as OTT, movies, TV and animation. Short-form video consumption on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok is also seen to account for a large share.
The rapid rise of AI technology is also weighing on the game industry. Generative AI is quickly absorbing entertainment demand that games, video and webtoons had served, and AI chat apps that converse with characters have grown to several million monthly active users. Technical limits remain, but in terms of immersion, many say it already has considerable competitiveness.
In fact, those who have gaming experience but said they do not currently play games cited lack of time to play (44%), decreased interest in games (36%), discovery of alternative leisure (34.9%) and lack of motivation to play (33.1%) as reasons for non-use. The wording differs, but the common message is "games are no longer fun."
Criticism is also emerging toward the industry itself. As mobile MMORPGs centered on probability-based items generated revenue, a flood of works repeatedly imitated them, and the Blockchain game and P2E craze also faded without clear results, critics say. In the process, innovation momentum weakened and user fatigue accumulated, observers add.
Although some homegrown games have achieved results in certain global markets, the fact that such success stories have not spread across the industry is also seen as a limitation. If the decline in game usage continues, some worry the market could shrink into a "league of their own" centered on a small number of users.