Karol Severin

Karol is a co-founder and Research Director at MIDiA. With over a decade of experience in consumer research, industry analysis, and consulting, Karol oversees the direction, coverage and quality of all MIDiA’s research output. Prior to co-founding MIDiA, Karol gained experience in TMT market research and consulting, as well as an entertainment industry startup founder. He holds a business management degree from Queen Mary, University of London, with specialisation in strategy, quantitative methods, and entrepreneurship.

Cover image for Gamers & entertainment merchandise

Gamers & entertainment merchandise

Karol Severin

31 Aug 2021

Gaming Games mobile games

As the digital entertainment worlds grow alongside the traditional IRL entertainment world, the next step in the evolution of the entertainment industry will be to bridge the IRL & digital entertainment spheres together, as and where appropriate. One such opportunity is to build bridges between physical and digital merchandise buying.

Chinese limits on gaming are more about the long-term, rather than short-term impacts

Karol Severin

31 Aug 2021

China regulation Audience engagement

A new regulation announced by the National Press and Publication Administration issues new rules around games engagement of under 18s. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the new rules will allow no online video games to be played during the school week, and only permits one hour of play per day...

Cover image for Chinese limits on gaming are more about the long-term, rather than short-term impacts

Roblox continues its growth story narrative, but cannot escape the Covid-bounce effect

Karol Severin

20 Aug 2021

Roblox financial results earnings

Roblox reported on its Q2 2021 results this week. Indeed, a continuation of the company’s growth story with bookings surpassing $665 million, up 35% year-on-year. On paper, the 127% YoY growth of revenue looks even more impressive.

Cover image for Roblox continues its growth story narrative, but cannot escape the Covid-bounce effect

A handful of sports dominate fandom among esports viewers, but opportunity still exists for many

Karol Severin

11 Aug 2021

esports Sports Fandom

Sports are increasingly executing on the overlap between gaming and esports. A handful of sports have established a strong foothold and lead among esports viewers. Data shows, however, that the still-emerging esports viewer segment provides opportunities across the sports fan spectrum.

Cover image for A handful of sports dominate fandom among esports viewers, but opportunity still exists for many

Quick Take: The metaverse – expect goldrush by many, market domination by a few

Karol Severin

2 Aug 2021

metaverse Games Media and Marketing

After years of pioneering, tinkering and iteration, the concept of metaverses is moving closer to the mainstream in media and entertainment, in particular in games and social media, for example. In the words of Bill Gates, people tend to overestimate the short-term impact and underestimate the long-...

Cover image for Quick Take: The metaverse – expect goldrush by many, market domination by a few

What Steam Deck, Netflix, Zoom, Peloton and Pro Evolution Soccer tell us about the future of games distribution

Karol Severin

23 Jul 2021

distribution content distribution Steam Deck

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I had to take some time off in the last two weeks. It is never good to have to step away from the buzz of daily games industry developments, but the silver lining is that the brief pause enabled me to look at seemingly unrelated games news of the last two weeks ...

Cover image for What Steam Deck, Netflix, Zoom, Peloton and Pro Evolution Soccer tell us about the future of games distribution

Cover image for The esports viewer dossier Q1 2021

The esports viewer dossier Q1 2021

Karol Severin

25 Jun 2021

subscribers Gaming Games

...

The games industry has changed; E3 needs to do the same if it is to remain relevant

Karol Severin

21 Jun 2021

e3 conference Games industry

This year’s E3 has experienced mixed reviews, with the consensus largely being that some interesting announcements were made, but they no longer provide an all-encompassing view of what’s going on in the games industry and what to get excited about for the rest of the year.

Cover image for The games industry has changed; E3 needs to do the same if it is to remain relevant

Games video creators can help attract new audiences to esports, if rights holders empower them to

Karol Severin

14 Jun 2021

esports Creators live streaming

Those who have been following MIDiA’s games coverage for a while will have seen our posts about the growth problem of esports and suggestions around putting focus on the entertainment angle , rather than just on the sports angle, in order to most effectively capitalise on the opportunity.

Cover image for Games video creators can help attract new audiences to esports, if rights holders empower them to

Marketing a game? Put enough focus on Discord and TikTok

Karol Severin

7 Jun 2021

games marketing TikTok Discord

TikTok and Discord are essential channels for effective gamer targeting. MIDiA’s Q1 2021 survey states that weekly active user penetration of the two services over-indexes among mobile and console gamers the most of all tracked social media.

Cover image for Marketing a game? Put enough focus on Discord and TikTok

Cover image for Games subscriptions

Games subscriptions
Early market leaders and consumer profiles emerge

Karol Severin

28 May 2021

Consumer behaviour Apple YouTube

As games subscriptions grow, understanding gamers through the lens of their subscriptions becomes crucial. Monitoring the growth of games subscription services and the behavioural makeup of segments that emerge with them is becoming increasingly important for developers and publishers alike – be it to make decisions around platform prioritisation...

Why we could see Epic Games gradually turn Fall Guys into free to play?

Karol Severin

28 May 2021

Epic Games Fall Guys Games

Fall Guys characters are venturing out into Super Bomberman’s free-to-play new release. It is the first time a Fall Guys character crosses over to another game. It is an interesting way to market a paid game to wider audiences and raise awareness for Fall Guys – a marketing push it needs if its ...

Cover image for Why we could see Epic Games gradually turn Fall Guys into free to play?

Cover image for Live streamed concert demand

Live streamed concert demand
Ready for prime time

Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin and Kriss Thakrar

21 May 2021

Spotify Spotify live music

Virtual concerts went from zero to a hundred at an unprecedented rate during the pandemic-shaped 2020, and the momentum carried through to 2021. But if lockdown years are like dog years, then so too the evolution of the current virtual event marketplace has been concertinaed.

Watch out Warzone and Fortnite: Ubisoft is coming after free-to-play

Karol Severin

17 May 2021

Ubisoft free to play f2p

Ubisoft announced last week that it is adding specific focus on free-to-play, alongside its AAA catalogue. In doing so, it is following a route that has been very successful for Activision with its Warzone strategy.

Cover image for Watch out Warzone and Fortnite: Ubisoft is coming after free-to-play

Cover image for BTS

BTS
BTS hit big with the most successful virtual concert yet

Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin and Kriss Thakrar

15 May 2021

Music concerts BTS

BTS are the best selling artist of 2020, and their label, Big Hit Music, deserves credit for the innovations they have championed in driving fandom – particularlywith virtual concerts. Map of the Soul: ON:E is the most successful virtual concertyet, selling 993,000 tickets and earning $35 million in revenue.

Quick take: Epic doubles down on expression and creation with the acquisition of ArtStation

Karol Severin

10 May 2021

acquisition m&a Epic Games

Epic Games embarked on the journey of attracting third-party developers a while ago , but it has now made a significant step towards building up a go-to marketplace and distribution centre for designers and creators of digital art and in-game items.

Cover image for Quick take: Epic doubles down on expression and creation with the acquisition of ArtStation

Cover image for In-game spending

In-game spending
Cross-entertainment product strategy

Karol Severin

30 Apr 2021

YouTube multitasking Twitch

Games revenue growth is about to slow, with in-game spending the sector set to retain most momentum. Simultaneously, other entertainment sectors will actively seek to monetise digital fandom. Future games revenue will need to tap opportunities beyond games-related spending alone, and the wider entertainment demands of consumers.

The case for next-generation spectator modes in games

Karol Severin

26 Apr 2021

spectator mode games video lean-in

The increasing need for digital expression, co-creation, and managing friction in the saturated attention economy presents a lucrative opportunity to bring the in-game spectating experience to the next level.

Cover image for The case for next-generation spectator modes in games

Cover image for Monetising Fandom

Monetising Fandom
Unlocking growth beyond games

Karol Severin

23 Apr 2021

Free Report

digital content Games cross-entertainment strategy

Beyond gaming to cross-entertainment partnerships webinar slides - 22-04-2021

Cover image for Music & Gaming

Music & Gaming
A new way to play

Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin and Keith Jopling

13 Apr 2021

Free Report

In today’s music business, the consumer boom is rapidly leading to a creator bust. For the music industry to untangle itself from this dysfunctional loop, it needs to find new ways of monetizing fandom, not simply relying on consumption. Artists need new ways to connect and transact more productively with their immediate fan bases.

© 2025 MIDiA Research Ltd. All Rights Reserved.