Video Games Have Become a Staple Across All Post-War Generations

The notion of a solitary, young male gamer is a thing of the past, as recent research by Newzoo indicates that engagement with video games has become so widespread that even the average Baby Boomer is more likely to be a gamer than not. A new study by Newzoo, titled How Consumers Engage With Games Today, suggests that a majority of the Baby Boomer generation, specifically 53%, engage with video games. This generation is defined as people born between 1945 and 1954. Engaging with video games is defined as participating in one or more of the following activities within the last 12 months: playing games, watching gaming content, visiting online gaming communities, listening to gaming podcasts, attending gaming conventions, discussing video games with family and friends, or engaging in other related activities, including frequently following gaming channels online. As expected, the number of gamers within each generational demographic increases with decreasing age, rising to 72% of Gen X, 88% of Millennials, 92% of Gen Z, and 96% of Gen Alpha. Among the most engaged demographic, Gen Alpha, those classified as game enthusiasts spend an average of 5.2 hours per week engaging with games, surpassing time spent on social media. This highlights how gaming has become a mainstream activity, leading the way for media and entertainment culture. The Global Gamer Study, which surveyed over 73,000 consumers across 36 markets, found that 85% of online consumers worldwide are considered game enthusiasts, engaging with the hobby through playing, viewing, owning, and/or social behavior. Furthermore, 80% of global consumers actively play video games. Across the three youngest demographics, the adventure genre is the most popular, with examples including Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto. However, the two older demographics prefer puzzle games over action titles. Within Gen Z, there are notable differences between gender segments. Males lean towards adventure, battle royale, shooter, sports, and fighting titles, while females prefer puzzles. Non-binary and other genders also favor adventure, as well as role-playing and simulation releases. When splitting the generation by gender identity, more similarities than differences are found. Adventure remains the favorite genre across gender identities, with fighting and shooter games also making the top five. Mobile gaming has played a significant role in bringing games to the mainstream, but the most dedicated gamers in terms of hours and minutes can be found on PC and console. On average, PC and console players spend 2.1 hours per day playing games, with this time spread across fewer, longer sessions than mobile gamers. As a result, non-mobile formats have the hobby's biggest spenders, with over half of console players being medium or high spenders, spending between $5 and $25 or more per month on gaming-related purchases. PC and console players are more likely to spend on various combinations of titles, DLC launches, and content, microtransactions, and other in-game purchases. They are also more comfortable paying upfront for an experience, with 18% and 26% respectively playing only or mostly premium titles, compared to 7% of mobile players. The younger the data skews, the higher the share of female and non-binary players in the premium game segment, showing that paying audiences are becoming more diverse with each passing gamer generation. According to SteamDB, 14,502 games were released on Steam in 2023, and despite this, only 66 games accounted for 80% of all play throughout the year. Newzoo found that 31% of PC and console players often seek out and try new or trending games, with over a third playing on all three platform types and averaging over seven hours of play per week. This group is predominantly male, Gen Z and Millennial, and has an average age of 27.4 years old. A significant reason for publishers and developers to engage with these new game seekers is that they spend money on the hobby, with 82% having made a purchase within the last six months. The most attractive feature to this group is good graphics, with 38% citing visuals as the most exciting element. Interestingly, the traditional core markets for games, such as the US, Japan, and the UK, are not where new game seekers are most prevalent. Instead, this group is most likely to reside in China, India, Thailand, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam, where 35% of players fall into this classification. For more information, visit Newzoo's website for the full report.