Gen Alpha: The First Generation Born Ready for Virtual Worlds

Every generation grows up with a defining medium. Boomers had TV. Millennials had the internet. Gen Z had social feeds. Gen Alpha was raised inside games. It’s time to get your brand ready to play because they already wield huge spending power and it’s only set to increase. 

By 2030, they’ll command an estimated $5.46 trillion in economic influence, not just through their own spending, but through the parents they influence daily. They’re the family’s in-house influencer, curating taste, culture, all from the living room.

The biggest driver for their decisions isn’t the ads that captivated millennials. It’s interactivity. According to new research:

• 76% of Gen Alpha want brands to gamify their experiences through rewards, points, or badges.
• 84% keep using an app simply to maintain a streak or reward.
• 64% say discounts and prizes keep them coming back.
• Nearly half want unlockable content, leaderboards, or early access as part of brand engagement.

The Gamified Mindset

Gen Alpha doesn’t separate playing from progressing. Their earliest experiences from Minecraft and Pokémon to Roblox and Duolingo (side note: if you missed their gen alpha campaign it’s worth a look), have taught them that effort, exploration, and status are inseparable. 

In Minecraft, millions of players learned to build, trade, and collaborate inside open systems that reward creativity and persistence. For Gen Alpha, Roblox isn’t just a pastime, it’s a social network, learning platform, and creative economy rolled into one.

Pokémon is a hard-wired dopamine loop of collection, progression, and mastery. Catch, evolve, display: the original loyalty mechanic. These systems conditioned a generation to equate engagement with tangible reward.

Even if you have younger kids, you can see this shift. Take Mathletics for instance, 6+ year olds are no longer learning maths the way their parents did, they are using a platform with games, challenges and a leaderboard that has them (and their parents) hooked “the world’s leading online maths program that builds confidence through personalised learning, exciting games and mastery challenges.”

That psychology now underpins how Gen Alpha relates to every brand experience. They expect progress bars, achievements, and worlds that grow with them.

Why Virtual Worlds Are the Natural Next Step

Virtual worlds mirror everything Gen Alpha already values: progression, ownership, collaboration, and identity.

Forward-thinking brands are moving beyond one-off activations toward persistent, gamified ecosystems. Places where play and participation intertwine.

To reach them, brands must think less like marketers and more like game designers, crafting systems that reward participation and creativity.

This is where MSquared comes in. 

MSquared gives agencies, developers and creators the tools to build immersive experiences that audiences return to, moving beyond closed platforms. We provide the building blocks for immersive experiences from creating rich spaces and portable identities to keeping them safe, trusted, and ready to grow at scale.

Catalyst is our in-house innovation studio where your bold brand ideas turn into playable worlds and gamified experiences.

We help brands move beyond advertising inside closed platforms into owned spaces where customers and fans join, engage, and return again and again. From rapid prototypes built in days to large-scale platform integrations, Catalyst brings together creative vision and technical expertise to push the boundaries of what's possible in virtual experiences.