Hidden Levels podcast explains how the industry has grown from the arcade into a global juggernaut

NPR | By Mallory Yu,

Jeanette Woods, Emily Kwong

Published February 21, 2026 at 5:16 PM EST

Last year, the video game industry generated around $190 BILLION in revenue. More than the music and film industry combined. How did this medium go from the arcade into a global juggernaut? That's the subject of a new podcast series called Hidden Levels.

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