Is Video Game Music Declining In Popularity?

I saw an article today that actually surprised me.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2025/10/playstation-is-trying-to-scrub-any-mention-of-its-failed-concerts-from-the-internet

Sony has canceled and is basically trying to bury that they were doing a tour of video game music from some of their biggest titles at present. This is the first time I'm aware of a video game music concert tour, of mainly orchestra music, being shelved due to a lack of interest. Some are saying a lack of marketing is to blame; others that the music isn't great. 

I can see the former possibly being true, but I can't see the latter. If Hans Zimmer, Nobuo Uematsu, & Slayer can still have sold-out concerts, then "meh" music can't be the problem here. Also, the Uncharted series I think was on the bill, and it actually has some good music.

What it got me thinking about though, is that it seems to me like video game music, just in general, doesn't seem to be as popular as it was ~15 years ago. One of the first online music communities geared towards composers and studio musicians I ever joined was OCReMix, probably about 2012 or so. Back then, every college age person wanted to be either a video game composer or was going to "Video Games Live" and trying to get a Remix past the judges panel. New people came all the time. 

The former hasn't changed. Plenty of young musicians are still falling for the trap of video games being a golden field of opportunity, but last I checked out OCR, it's basically still the same people who were there in 2015 making remixes. VGL hasn't toured near me in years, so far as I know. I used to go annually with friends, but even 10 years ago, I noticed they weren't drawing as big of crowds each passing year.

This is quite a shift as articles 10 years ago were boasting about how "Video Game Music Saved The Symphony Orchestra". In 2015, this Playstation touring orchestral concerts would've been a license to print money.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-videogames-are-saving-the-symphony-orchestra-1444696737

My hypothesis is that in the 2010s, there were nostalgic millennials still high on the '90s and 2000s video game soundtracks, which were great. A lot of millennials were big on gaming, but I don't think Gen Z is as much. From what I see of Gen Z playing games, they usually only play big franchises and social games like Fortnite, GTA and sports games. So, I think that they aren't as familiar with games where a soundtrack that "slaps" is noteworthy, and the millennials are now all middle-aged and either grew out of gaming or just simply don't have the time to go to VGM concerts anymore.

But maybe I'm wrong and it's stilling secretly booming somwhere.

Curious to know YC's thoughts, since I know there are VGM fans here.

Unfortunately, I can't read the Wall Street Journal article without getting a subscription.

From my own experience, I think video-game music has become kind of a niche genre.  I think that there is a tendency in both film music and VGM to create more atmospheric music that works in a certain context but that doesn't stand alone the way a piece of concert music does.  And in the past, because of hardware limitations, these kinds of atmospheric tracks were hard to produce effectively so composers defaulted to just writing good music period.  And the music had to have basic elements that could be easily reproducible with the limited hardware and appealed to the spirit of the level/game in a more basic way, using melody and harmony in a more classical approach.

Also, I once watched a YT video of a World of Warcraft concert, and I really just couldn't see the appeal of the music to the music goers.  And I've even played WoW myself back when it first came out.  But with all the new expansion packs that have come out by now, it was no longer familiar to me and the music seemed empty and unfulfilling to me.  I think that just attests to my first point, that music has become more atmospheric and less able to stand alone, the way a piece of concert music would be expected to.  And so the appeal of music written for games and movies that's written in this atmospheric way is dying out, imo.  Only the hardcore fans who have played the games for hours can enjoy the concerts of this kind of music.

But imo the older music from the golden age of VGM (in my opinion) - the 90's, still has concert appeal and it shows - because there are lots of YouTubers making covers and re-imaginings of this old music on their YT channels.  And I believe the music from that age can definitely stand on its own and capture the imaginations of listeners who have never even played the game that the music was written for.  But I might be biased, since I was a kid in the 90's and experienced the music from that era very personally.  But that's my 2¢.  Cool topic!