82-83 LSB The Insights Family (SL).qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 01/05/2026 13:02 Page 1
THE INSIGHTS FAMILY
Inset: Resident Evil Requiem launched in February and sold five million copies in five days.
The Insights Family highlights some of the data for Q1 from its Engagement Index, which is built on what kids are actively feeling, seeking out and identifying with right now.
Get
Gaming IP with real tailwinds
engaged T
he Insights Family Engagement Index is the licensing industry's first continuous ranking of franchise strength built on real-time engagement with kids aged 3-18: how deeply fans connect, how widely an IP reaches and how fiercely it holds its most loyal audience. The first global Q1 2026 release shows where momentum is building ahead of the market and where licensing decisions made today are likely to outperform. For an industry that has traditionally relied on lagging indicators, this kind of forwardlooking visibility offers something far more valuable: the ability to act early, mitigate risk and back the right IP to gain a competitive edge.
Miraculous Ladybug: 10 years in and climbing Miraculous Ladybug sits at rank 55 and has gained 68 places this quarter. In a top 100 dominated by properties with decades of heritage, that kind of momentum is significant, but the context makes it even more so. Miraculous is one of the few genuinely large IPs to have originated in Europe, debuting in late 2015 and now just past its 10th anniversary. It is not yet a generational franchise, but everything about how it is being built suggests that is exactly the ambition. Season six, the first produced in Unreal Engine, rolled out across 150 countries throughout 2025.
82
Resident Evil sits at rank 87. It climbed 157 places from rank 244 in just 90 days. That climb demonstrates active, measurable engagement with the franchise across behavioural, emotional and cognitive dimensions: purchasing, seeking out content, expressing identity through the IP. While not necessarily intended for younger audiences, its presence here reflects how gaming IP now travels culturally, well beyond its intended age rating. The shift is driven by a clear set of moments. Resident Evil Requiem launched on 27 February, selling five million copies in five days, Capcom's fastest-ever opening. Within weeks, the new protagonist had debuted as a Fortnite skin, a Porsche collaboration was live and Hamilton watches tied to the lead characters were in market. The franchise landed simultaneously across every surface that kids who care about gaming occupy. The Index measured what that activation looks like in real time. Genshin Impact, at rank 70, has climbed 154 places versus the previous quarter. HoYoverse has maintained a cadence of six-weekly content drops through Q1 2026. New characters, map expansions, and a long-awaited return to the game's original Mondstadt region in April. That produces something rarer than a launch spike: durable, compounding engagement that builds quarter after quarter. Across the full index, IP originating in video games generates emotional engagement scores that sit on average, 10 points above every other origin category.
Creator Jeremy Zag has confirmed the franchise will run for at least 10 seasons. A Miraculous Family Entertainment Centre is opening at the Mall of Qatar in spring 2026. A worldwide live stage show premieres in 2027 in collaboration with live entertainment company Monlove. Season seven is in production. The strategy is deliberately meeting kids where they are, from streaming to live experiences to location-based entertainment, building the kind of multiplatform presence that turns a hit show into a lasting franchise. The Index is picking up the impact of that in real time through kids' emotional, cognitive and behavioural signals.
Above: Season six of Miraculous rolled out across 150 countries throughout 2025. LICENSING SOURCE BOOK 2026