Interactive entertainment properties reached more than 2.1 billion unique interactions in July 2025, led by anime and streaming franchises. Anime and streaming franchises captured the top two spots for the second consecutive month, with Shueisha’s One Punch Man (598.5M interactions) and Netflix’s Squid Game (542.2M) maintaining their dominance over traditional sports properties like the NBA (120.7M, down from 170.2M in June).
This month’s ALDORA Leaderboard reflects the evolving balance of power in interactive entertainment, where global IP holders leverage gaming ecosystems to deepen cultural relevance.
ALDORA tracks brand performance across five dimensions of the gaming ecosystem—Play (direct gameplay), Watch (streaming and video content), Connect (social interactions), Create (user-generated content), and Spend (in-game purchases and merchandise)—aggregating these diverse engagement signals into a unified measure of audience reach.
July’s data reiterates that cultural relevance now lives in participatory formats. The brands go beyond streaming video and passive consumption, and are remixed, role-played, and reimagined in user-generated worlds. Whether it’s fans staging their own One Punch Man battles, Squid Game’s community-built recreations, or Lady Gaga’s 591,448 concurrent players joining her Roblox appearances, growth comes from leaning into co-creation.
For brands, the strategic question is no longer how to reach audiences, but how to empower them to create alongside you.
Netflix’s Squid Game delivered July’s most dramatic growth story, surging 260% from 150.6 million interactions in June to 542.2 million—catapulting from third place to second and nearly overtaking One Punch Man’s top position. Season 3, released on June 27th, delivered the franchise’s strongest interactive performance to date. For context, the season also tallied 106 million views within its first ten days, making it the most-watched in the franchise.
The brand’s ability to thrive across streaming, UGC recreations, and play environments illustrates how Netflix is evolving from passive media into participatory entertainment.
One Punch Man, backed by Shueisha and distributed through Bandai Namco’s gaming arm, reached 598.5 million interactions in July, a +2 percent month-over-month gain. Remarkably, 97 percent of these took place in user-generated experiences, showing how anime fandom drives not just consumption but community creation.
Japanese publishers have perfected the anime-to-game pipeline, sustaining IP value well beyond episodic releases.
Sports properties experienced notable declines during the summer months, with the NBA dropping 29% from 170.2 million to 120.7 million interactions as the league entered its off-season. MLB saw an even steeper 25% decline from 9.6 million to 7.2 million interactions.
The NBA’s continued investment in NBA 2K (Take-Two Interactive) and Fortnite collaborations keeps it at the center of interactive fandom. Unlike episodic franchises, sports deliver predictable seasonal spikes, making leagues like the NBA indispensable cultural anchors for brands.
Entertainment IP today increasingly circulates through ecosystems of play, watch, connect, create, and spend. Winners are those who turn cultural attention into persistent, multi-platform interaction.
Analysis by ALDORA CEO Joost van Dreunen
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