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2K Games owns a diverse portfolio of beloved titles—spanning blockbuster sports franchises like NBA 2K and WWE 2K, to cult-favourite series like Borderlands, Civilization, and BioShock. But with gaming habits evolving fast, they needed to re-evaluate:
The goal wasn’t just to understand the current audience—it was to build a roadmap to identify and win with the next wave of gamers driving future growth.
Mapping Passion: From Genres to Human Motivations
We started by building a dataset of 20 million YouTube users engaging with gaming content—spanning every genre, style, and subculture.
Then we clustered users by how they engage:
This revealed a dynamic landscape of gaming mindsets—not just demographics.
Next, we mapped 2K’s titles against these clusters to pinpoint where they currently resonate—and where there's untapped potential. This gave us a clear view of:
To activate this insight, we built digital communities mirroring each target group, made up of over 40,000 real social accounts. We explored what drives them in and out of gaming—from cultural touchpoints to gameplay features that matter most.
The audience map became a unifying reference across 2K’s teams—from product to marketing. It shaped development priorities and creative briefs for upcoming titles, including Borderlands 4 and Civilization VII.
By aligning around what gamers truly care about, 2K is designing feature development and creative briefs built for the future.
In decoding what unites and excites different gaming audiences, we helped 2K resonate with their loyal fans—whilst winning over the next generation.
Ready to find your next wave of fandom? Download our creds or get in touch.
