By Exec Edge Editorial Staff
The gaming landscape has fundamentally shifted, according to David Natroshvili, CEO and founder of SPRIBE, who has witnessed firsthand how the next generation of players is reshaping the industry and demanding that platforms evolve alongside them.
Natroshvili, who has built SPRIBE into a company serving over 60 million monthly active players globally, points to compelling industry data that illustrates this transformation.
According to the Entertainment Software Association’s 2024 Essential Facts report, 61% of Americans now play video games regularly, with the average player age rising to 36 years old. However, it’s Generation Z and Alpha that are driving the most significant changes in how, why, and where people play.
“What strikes me most about today’s young players is their fundamental expectation that gaming should be social,” Natroshvili said.
While previous generations viewed multiplayer as a nice-to-have feature – due to the novelty not just of the player format but online gaming as a whole – Gen Z views gaming as an inherently collaborative pastime. Natroshvili has seen this trend manifest powerfully across SPRIBE’s user engagement metrics and feedback, he noted.
“Players don’t just want to play – they want to share the experience, celebrate wins together, and build communities around shared excitement,” he said. “Our real-time chat features and social leaderboards aren’t peripheral elements; they’re core to the user experience.”
This social dimension extends beyond the game itself. According to eMarketer’s 2025 research, 44% of Gen Z gamers who identify as serious players use Discord, compared to just 20% who don’t identify as gamers. These platforms have become the modern equivalent of the arcade—spaces where players gather, strategize, and form lasting relationships.
Mobile-First, Platform-Agnostic Expectations
Industry data reveals another crucial shift: platform flexibility has become non-negotiable. Bain & Company’s 2024 Gaming Report found that nearly 70% of gamers play on at least two devices, with cross-platform accessibility ranking among the top three features players want from future games.
“This isn’t just about convenience—it’s about lifestyle integration,” Natroshvili said. Today’s players expect to start a game on their console at home, continue on mobile during their commute, and seamlessly pick up where they left off on any device. At SPRIBE, Natroshvili has prioritized this mobile-first approach from day one, ensuring the business delivers the same engaging experience whether played on a smartphone in São Paulo or a desktop in Stockholm.
The numbers support this strategy: 78% of players now game on mobile devices, according to the ESA, representing a 136% increase over the past 12 years. For companies still designing games with a single platform in mind, this represents an existential challenge.
The Demand for Authentic, Transparent Experiences
Perhaps most importantly, the next generation demands authenticity and transparency in ways previous players never did, according to Natroshvili. Having grown up in an era of information abundance, they expect to understand exactly how their games work.
“This is why we built the platforms on provably fair technology, allowing players to verify the fairness of each game round through cryptographic methods,” explains Natroshvili. “It’s not enough to tell players a game is fair—they want to see the proof themselves.” This transparency has become a competitive advantage for SPRIBE, particularly in markets like India and Brazil, where trust in gaming platforms directly correlates with user adoption.
The Comscore 2024 State of Gaming Report reinforces this trend, showing that 45% of gamers don’t mind rewarded advertisements when they’re presented transparently and add value to the gaming experience. The key factor is transparency—players are willing to engage with commercial elements if they understand the value exchange.
Regional Nuances Matter More Than Ever
According to Newzoo’s Global Gamer Study, 85% of consumers now engage with games in some capacity, with 64% watching gaming content and 35% participating in gaming communities. This expanded definition of gaming engagement means platforms must think beyond traditional gameplay mechanics.
“One of the most important lessons I’ve learned scaling SPRIBE globally is that the next generation of players isn’t monolithic,” says Natroshvili. While overarching trends exist, regional preferences and cultural contexts significantly impact player behavior, he notes.
SPRIBE’s 2024 performance data under Natroshvili’s leadership illustrates this complexity. In the Asia-Pacific region, the company saw a remarkable 629% year-over-year increase in monthly active users, with retention rates improving by 25.36%. Meanwhile, in Africa, which accounts for 35% of SPRIBE’s player base, Natroshvili observed different engagement patterns, with players gravitating toward the company’s Mines game alongside their other major flagship game.
“These regional differences aren’t just about game preferences—they reflect deeper cultural attitudes toward risk, social interaction, and entertainment consumption,” explains Natroshvili. “Successful platforms must be globally consistent yet locally relevant.”
The Creator Economy Integration
Today’s players don’t just want to consume content—they want to create it, notes Natroshvili. Bain’s research shows that 79% of gamers have played games with user-generated content, and 16% have created content for games themselves. This represents a fundamental shift from passive consumption to active participation.
“Smart platforms are already integrating creator tools, revenue-sharing models, and community features that let players become stakeholders in the games they love,” says Natroshvili. “This isn’t just about keeping players engaged longer—it’s about recognizing that the line between player and creator has permanently blurred.”
Implications for Platform Strategy
For gaming companies, these trends demand a fundamental rethinking of platform strategy, according to Natroshvili. “The old model of developing a game, launching it, and moving on to the next project is obsolete,” he says. “Today’s successful platforms are living ecosystems that evolve based on community feedback and changing player expectations.” At SPRIBE, this philosophy has helped the company capture 90% of the crash game market share, demonstrating how platforms that prioritize player-centric evolution can achieve market dominance.
This means investing in what Natroshvili identifies as key areas:
Community Infrastructure: Real-time communication tools, social features, and community management are becoming core platform requirements rather than optional extras.
Cross-Platform Technology: The technical debt of platform-specific development is no longer sustainable. Players expect seamless experiences across all devices.
Transparency Tools: Whether through provably fair algorithms, clear monetization structures, or open development processes, transparency builds the trust that drives long-term success.
Localization Depth: Surface-level translation isn’t enough. Successful global platforms adapt gameplay mechanics, social features, and monetization strategies to local preferences and regulations.
Creator Support Systems: Tools for user-generated content, revenue-sharing mechanisms, and creator recognition programs will separate thriving platforms from declining ones.
“The next generation of players isn’t just changing what games they play—they’re redefining what gaming means,” says Natroshvili. They expect experiences that are social, transparent, accessible across platforms, and respectful of their time and intelligence.
At SPRIBE, Natroshvili says these insights shape every decision the company makes, from partnerships with organizations like UFC and AC Milan to expansion into emerging markets.
“We’re not just building games,” Natroshvili said. “We’re crafting experiences that honor the sophisticated expectations of players who see gaming as a fundamental part of their social and entertainment lives.”
Natroshvili believes that companies that understand this shift and adapt accordingly will thrive in the next decade. “Those that cling to outdated models of player engagement will find themselves increasingly irrelevant to a generation that has more entertainment options—and higher expectations—than any before them.”
“The future belongs to platforms that treat players as partners, not just customers,” concludes Natroshvili. “The data makes this clear, and the most successful companies in our industry are already making this transition. The question isn’t whether this change is coming—it’s whether your platform is ready for it.”
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