A report from Ampere Analysis has found that announced game-to-anime commissions jumped 137 per cent year-on-year in 2024, overtaking comics to become the third-largest source of adaptations. With anime’s strong and growing appeal among gamers, video content producers are maximising game universes to reach established anime viewers and convert gaming audiences into new fans.

As a result, game-based animation titles, such as Devil May Cry and CastleVania have performed strongly, debuting in the global top 10 on Netflix within the first two weeks of releas

Key findings from the report, Games and Animation: How transmedia strategies leverage IP:

• Anime fandom at scale. 35 per cent of internet users aged 18 to 64 are anime fans; 83 per cent of those are active gamers—a large audience hungry for animated content based on gaming IPs.
• Familiarity boosts performance. Ampere’s analysis of search activity reveals that game-based Netflix Original titles were about 40 times as popular as other Netflix Original animation titles in Q2 2025. Notably, Arcane: League of Legends, based on Riot Games’ hugely popular online game, and the Devil May Cry TV series based on Capcom’s well-known franchise, drove high popularity.
• The third-largest source for adaptations. Announced game IP into anime commissions overtook comics in 2024, placing them behind only manga and books. Commissioning is driven by the popularity of gaming among internet users today, with 93 per cent of 18-64-year-old respondents to Ampere’s media consumer survey* playing games more often than monthly.
• Driving game engagement: For game publishers, licensing IP for adaptation can have a significant impact on gaming activity. After the April 2025 launch of the Devil May Cry animated series, according to Ampere’s game title tracking, monthly active users of the game Devil May Cry 5 jumped by 313 per cent.
• The European opportunity: The expanding anime fanbase presents an increasing opportunity for game-to-animation adaptations, particularly in Europe. Fast-growing countries include Germany and Finland. Here, the anime fanbase among internet users grew from 23 per cent in Q3 2020 to 26 per cent in Q3 2025, and from 25 per cent in Q3 2020 to 34 per cent in Q3 2025, respectively.
• What’s coming next: With the expansion of anime fans globally, the pool of gamers who are anime fans for game IP holders to exploit will expand. Franchises with strong narratives, such as Final Fantasy or Fire Emblem, are ideal candidates for animation adaptations.

Katie Holt, Senior Analyst at Ampere Analysis, says: “Long-term audience expansion among anime fans and gamers will drive the growth of commissions in the coming years. While Japanese content has long been the first choice for adaptation, as anime fandom becomes more globalised, we will see a rise in animated adaptations from other sources – including from Western IP.”

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Categories: Consumer Behaviour, Content, Games, Headline, Markets, Research

Tags: Ampere Analysis, anime, netflix