Sources

1. Newzoo - Global Games Market Report 2025 — Global games market 2025 revenue $188.8B

2. ChainPlay / GamesBeat - 93% of Web3 Game Projects Are Dead — Web3 games 93% death rate, avg lifespan 4 months

3. GameAnalytics via Business of Apps - Mobile Game Retention Rates 2025 — Mobile D1 ~25-27%, D7 ~8%, D30 <3%

4. Visual Capitalist / Licensing International - Top Media Franchises — Pokémon $150B+, Hello Kitty $89B, Mario $57B

5. Vice - Pokémon Highest Grossing Media Franchise — Pokémon video game revenue ~$17B vs merchandise $91.6B

6. SQ Magazine - Character AI Statistics 2026 — Character.ai 2hr daily avg, 45min sessions

7. ElectroIQ - AI Companions Statistics 2025 — Replika 25M users

8. Fortune Business Insights - AI Companion Market — 2025 market $37.73B

9. CoinGecko - 70% of Web3 Games Failed in 2023 — 2023 Web3 game failure rate 70.7%