Latest gaming trends & statistics

The last decade has seen exponential growth in the gaming industry. The amount of people playing or contributing to the industry has almost tripled and is on a steady rise.

Since 2012, the value of the gaming market has increased significantly. From 2020 to 2022, the gaming market value rose by 14.4%, then being valued at $178.73 billion in 2022. Out of the entire industry, the biggest video game company was Nintendo, valued at $85 billion.

In total, it has been estimated that there are 3.24 billion gamers across the globe which equals to just under half the entire population. Video games have become one of the most common ways of being entertained. Many claim that they play to reduce stress and has become a popular pastime for younger and older people alike.

Video games are predicted to reach a value of $314.40 billion by 2027, registering a compound annual growth rate of 9.64% over the next five years. More and more people are becoming interested in video games. With the rise of the prolific esports industry, more people are becoming invested in becoming established players to earn a living from the sport.

The rise in those interested in playing games led to video gaming becoming less dominated by males. As of this year, around 45% of players were female with the remaining 55% being male. As well as this, more people are playing at an older ages. Prior to this, video gaming was seen as a adolescent activity whereas in 2020, 80% of gamers are above the age of 18 with the average gamer being 31 years old. This could be due to generational differences. Millennials grew up with the rise of video gaming hence the pertained interest. However, Gen-Z have grown up with social media and applications such as TikTok meaning the majority of the generation hasn’t ever been invested into video games.

Millennial (18–34) dominate the gaming market with 38% of them actively invested in playing video games. 20% of gamers are children under 18 (predominantly Gen-Z) play video games with the rest being made up of those above the age of the millennial generation.

The reasoning behind people playing video games also plays a large role in who and why video games are so popular. Nearly all (79%) of American gamers claim that they play games due to the mental stimulation. On top of this, 67% of female gamers say that they use gaming as a way to unwind and relax.

Around 75% of American households contain at least one person who plays video games with a staggering 226.6. mullion players across the US. This led to the value of the video games industry to rise from 76.2 billion to 85.9 million in just one year. 2020/21 saw the largest rise in value for the industry in over a decade. This is likely to be the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the. majority of the world contained within their homes, gaming would have been an easy form of entertainment and stimulation.

Although there are several million players across the world, habits and preferences differ. Surprisingly, the majority of players (56%) play on a smartphone. This includes all types of games such as casual (Tetris, solitaire etc), shooter games (Call of Duty, Fortnite etc) and racing games (Forza, Need For Speed etc). Around 46% of gamers say that they use a console to play games such as Playstation or XBOX and 42% of gamers also use a personal computer to play games.

Across the gaming industry around 63% of people play games such as Tetris and solitaire as they are simple and passive. These types of games do not require much attention. It comes as no surprise that the the majority of gamers use smartphones to play, especially considering smartphone app stores such as the Google Play Store offer a wide array of causal games. Smartphone gamers tend to play casual games (71%) as they have easy access, especially during situations such as commuting.

As of June 2022, the highest selling games console to date was the Playstation 2 with over 158 million units sold worldwide. In 2022 alone, the highest selling console is the Nintendo Switch with over 28 million units sold. Following closely behind was the Playstation 4 and 5.

Overall, there have been several influences that have significantly increased the gaming industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has, arguably, had the most significant impact on the sector due to many people investing in consoles and gaming during the lockdown periods. With the rise of esports and gaming culture, it would not be surprising if the industry was to rise even further.