Industry players have misunderstood women consumers.
It is a lazy Saturday afternoon, 8 March 2025, International Women’s Day. What will some women with discretionary income and free time be doing?
According to current trends, many will be reading “romantasy” books — blending fantasy and romance — while sipping iced coffee in their reading nooks. Later, they might play a “cozy game” — a video game genre that emphasises non-violence and relaxation — complete a puzzle or Lego botanicals project, with reruns of Gilmore Girls or Grey’s Anatomy playing in the background. If they opt for something newer, it might be Bridgerton or the latest Korean or Chinese drama.
Their playlists will probably include pop music, whether American or Korean, as they follow a 10-step Korean skincare routine for that flawless glass-skin look. While cooking dinner, they might listen to a dark romance audiobook or a true crime podcast. Some might even have a long, supportive conversation with their AI boyfriend.
Although the above is based on trends, gaming and film companies are struggling to attract female audiences because their efforts are often misdirected, leading to alienation rather than inclusion. As a result, the entertainment industry is contending with declining sales and audience engagement and a fundamental misunderstanding of the female consumer market is aggravating the situation.
While women are thriving in their entertainment choices, many Western entertainment companies are struggling. Over the past three years, long-established film and gaming companies have faced shutdowns, project cancellations, layoffs and declining market share.
Among the complex reasons for this downturn is a misguided attempt to capture a perceived female audience. Traditionally male-oriented franchises like Star Trek, Star Wars and AAA games — high-budget, high-profile games produced and distributed by large, well-known publishers — have shifted their focus to attracting female consumers, however, these efforts have largely failed.
The genres of science fiction, military, superheroes, grim-dark futures and dark fantasy have not drawn the anticipated mass female audience. Worse still, these changes have alienated the core male fanbase while also pushing away the smaller female audience that previously enjoyed these franchises in their authentic form.
Many female gamers, for example, prefer conventionally attractive female protagonists, yet expressing this preference often invites ridicule. Ironically, studies show that more than 80% of female gamers create conventionally attractive female characters — contradicting the trend of Western game companies designing protagonists who fail to resonate with their intended audience.
A recent controversy saw a French journalist critique the Korean game Stellar Blade, arguing that its protagonist set “impossible beauty standards” that could harm women. This reflects another issue — infantilisation — where women’s agency and ability to make their own choices are undermined.
From a market segmentation perspective, simply inserting a female protagonist into traditionally male-dominated media without considering what actually appeals to women, will not attract a female audience. A grim-dark militaristic world, an unappealing female lead and the absence of an attractive male love interest are unlikely to succeed.
Women are exercising their consumer autonomy, gravitating toward feminine-focused media. Historically, people have tried to dictate women’s entertainment choices, currently people are dismissing romantasy as “fairy smut”, disregarding audiobook listeners as non-readers and failing to recognise cozy gamers as “real” gamers.
A more strategic approach would have been for traditional entertainment companies to create an imprint, similar to book publishers, dedicated to women-focused content. This could collaborate with successful authors and creators from the romantasy and cozy gaming spheres to develop media aligned with female preferences on the platforms they engage with. Meanwhile, their existing franchises could remain true to their core male audience.
But internal politics in these companies, and the broader Western entertainment industry, probably prevented such an approach.
What does women’s entertainment look like?
When it comes to film and television, women increasingly favour Korean and Chinese dramas over Western content. Comfort shows from earlier years remain popular, while recent successes like Bridgerton, Stranger Things and Encanto have managed to capture female viewership. However, traditional daytime soap operas have declined, failing to attract younger audiences.
Asian media has seen global growth, with South Africa and Nigeria among the biggest consumers in Africa. K-dramas, C-dramas, and Japanese anime introduce women to new cultures, fashion, myths and storytelling styles.
Attempts to adapt Western fantasy books into streaming series have often faltered, as audiences find that characters do not align with their imagined versions.
Women are turning to gaming but their preferences lean towards cozy, puzzle, mystery, visual novels, farming simulations and role-playing games such as Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer, Cult of the Lamb, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Animal Crossing, The Sims and The Legend of Zelda. When engaging with role-playing games, female players prioritise character customisation and in-game relationships, valuing visually appealing and well-developed characters with compelling dialogue.
Baldur’s Gate 3, for example, has driven many women to purchase gaming consoles and PCs as they spend hours crafting the perfect character to romance the vampire Astarion, sometimes even modifying the game to enhance attraction levels and outfits.
On mobile, match-3 games (puzzles where the player matches tiles to make them disappear), casual farming and life simulations, decorating games and dating and romance simulators (otome games) dominate. Love and Deepspace, a dating sim targeting female players, has surpassed 50 million downloads in a year, generating $319.2 million through in-game purchases.
The romantasy genre has seen explosive growth, with sales rising from $454 million in 2023 to around $610 million in 2024. Bestselling series like A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros have driven this surge, filling entire sections in bookstores.
Social media has amplified this trend through BookTok, Bookstagram and BookTube, where book influencers and hashtags fuel women-focused book sales. Other women-centric genres — traditional romance, historical romance, domestic fiction, cozy mysteries, cozy fantasy and dark romance — are also booming, particularly in physical formats. Outside of Asia, manga, manhwa and manhua targeting female audiences are outselling Western comic books.
Sadly, 2025 is shaping up to be another disastrous year for major Western gaming and film companies. Their attempts to cater to an ill-defined female audience have not only failed but are also driving away their original fanbase.
The female audience they sought was never waiting to be “converted” — they were already engaged in their own thriving media ecosystems, shaped by distinct interests and influencers. In today’s algorithm-driven world, these two entertainment ecosystems rarely intersect.
This International Women’s Day, let’s respect women’s choices and agency in the media they choose to consume — and, just as importantly, the media they choose not to consume.
Dr Lize Barclay is a senior lecturer in futures studies and systems thinking at Stellenbosch Business School.