The video gaming community is widespread across devices and continues to grow larger by the day.
Online games for smart phones, tablets, laptops and desktops, Mac, iOS, smart TVs, and any device that can access the online realm are easily accessible.
Today, we will be focusing on video game demographics as they relate to 2025 and share some facts and data about the overall video gaming world.
Video games come in several genres and ways to play. You can play alone or with friends and gamers from all over the world.
You can play games online or offline and even watch other gamers play games in real-time.
Just a few years ago, movies and television painted a picture of nerdy-looking teens playing offline games on various gaming platforms (Nintendo, Xbox, PS, et. al.).
Today, gamers come from a wide range of backgrounds, ages, and other diverse demographics as you will soon learn.
Who is gaming? What devices are they gaming on? Why are they gaming? Where are they gaming? How are they gaming?
These are the answers you will get from these video game statistics. We will be focusing on the demographics of this topic.
The next few paragraphs may surprise or even shock you, but the facts, data, and statistics are out there.
Key Video Game Demographics
- The average age of male gamers is 34.
- By 2024, it’s estimated to be 3.32 billion individuals playing video games.
- In 2020, the data showed that 55% of parents in the United States played video games with their children.
- 46 million United States gamers have some type of disability.
- European demographics reveal that 50% of people aged 6 to 64 play video games.
- The Philippines has the largest percentage of gamers per capita.
- Video gamers in China spent about 12.39 hours per week playing games, according 2021 to video game statistics.
- During the global pandemic, video gaming saw its highest growth.
- Forecasts now show that the gaming sector market value could reach almost $340 billion by 2027.
- Dentists are considered the least likely to buy video games.
Who’s Playing Video Games?
We’ll begin with who plays video games.
What will be covered in this section relates to gender, age, household, location, and other demographics that cover who’s playing.
1. The Average Age of Male Gamers Is 34.
Today’s gamer is an average age of 34 years old, has children, and owns their own homes.
This little tidbit might come as a surprise to you, but this is what the data shows. Who would have thought it?
The most active group of male gamers that account for 17% of the overall gaming community is under 18 years old.
(Statista, The ESA)
2. The Average Age of Female Gamers Is 36.
While the difference between 34-year-old males and 36-year-old females, there is a slight difference in the average ages of gamers.
Also, the overall average age of gamers is 34 years old.
This may not come as much of a surprise, but the most active group of female gamers sits between 18 and 35 years old.
This represents 13% of the gaming community.
(Statista, The ESA)
3. By 2024, It’s Estimated to Be 3.32 Billion Individuals Playing Video Games.
In fact, demographics show that this industry is expected to continue to grow.
By 2027, it’s estimated that there will be over 3.8 billion gamers across the globe.
It’s estimated that there will be a 6% growth year-on-year that occurred between 2020 and 2024.
In other words, the gaming industry isn’t expected to slow down over the next few years.
The fact that video game statistics show that this sector has been on an upturn since 2015, says a lot. In 2015, there were 1.99 billion gamers.
(Finances Online, Statista 2)
4. 36% of Gamers in The United States Are Between 18 and 34 Years Old.
This is a continuation of the age demographics we shared in the first two points in this section.
In the United States, 36% of gamers range from 18 to 34 on average. The under 18 group accounts for 24%.
Another 26% of video gamers in the United States are between 34 and 54 years old. That range fits into the Millennial to Gen X (1965-1979) groups.
Moreover, 15% of gamers fall into the 55 to 65+ age groups, which includes 9% between 55-64 and 6% for the 65 and older crowd.
The latter groups include a few Millennials (1980-1994), mostly Baby Boomers (1946-1964), and a few from the Silent Generation, also referred to as the Traditionalist Generation (1928-1945).
(Statista 3)
5. Women Are Apt to Purchase Games Less Often than Men.
Data from 2021 shows that male gamers are more apt to purchase games than females.
Consequently, 48% of gamers are female, but only 6% of them identify as “gamers”, which contrasts with the 15% of males who identify as “gamers”.
Women as also more prone to playing video games on their smartphones, which may skew the numbers and percentages of which gender buys more video games.
The existing and available data shows that males are 3 times more likely to buy video games than their female counterparts.
(Earnest)
6. 32% of Female Video Gamers Play at Least Five Times per Week on Mobile Devices.
While 28% of their male gamer counterparts play at least five days per week, 32% of females are playing games on their mobile devices five times per week.
More women in general play on mobile devices than men.
Overall, 94% of women play games on mobile compared to 91% of men.
The numbers are so close that there’s very little divide between male and female gamers playing on mobile.
The divide between male and female gamers is wider on PC and console games, as you will see below.
(Newzoo)
7. 69% of Men Play Games on Consoles Compared to 59% of Women.
These kinds of demographics show that women play on mobile devices more than men do.
Not that women don’t play on gaming consoles; it’s just the percentage is lower in women than men.
This data tells us that the female demographic has a large stake in the dedicated gamer community.
Men may still make up most of these gamers, but the gap has been closing since 2020.
(Newzoo)
8. The Average Age of Gamers Who Purchase Games Is 36.
While the average gamer comes in at around 24 years old, the average game buyer is 36 years old.
The most frequent buyers of games are male, which confers with the data of more men than women buy games.
Moreover, research shows that in 2022, children between 10 and 12 are spending the most money on video games.
The Gen Alpha and Gen Z crowds are growing up and buying games.
The data shows that 52% of Gen Alpha gamers and 51% of Gen Z gamers are spending a lot of money on games.
In contrast, Millennials are falling a bit behind at 48% of gamers spending the most money, and Gen X stands at 31%. Only 13% of Baby Boomers spend a lot on video games.
(Digital Australia Report 2018, Digital Information World)
9. In 2020, The Data Showed that 55% of Parents in The United States Played Video Games with Their Children.
In the United States, 55% of parents played video games with their children.
The data doesn’t show whether this includes a subset of parents who solely play games with their children, but don’t play games by themselves or with others.
It’s believed to be because today’s young parents were gamers as children, so it’s not a stretch for them to play video games with their children.
In fact, 73% of gaming parents surveyed feel that video games can be educational.
Another 66% said that playing video games with the family is great entertainment and superior quality time.
(The ESA)
10. 46 Million United States Gamers Have Some Type of Disability.
More often than not, gaming developers and publishers are becoming proactively accommodating to gamers with disabilities.
Just a few years ago, it was unlikely to find settings and filters that aid people with disabilities in games.
This whole concept has been a big talking point for gaming companies over the past few years.
Some enhancements available in various games include text-to-speech, larger fonts, color filters, simpler and alternative inputs, and some specialty controllers.
(The ESA)
Global Video Game Statistics
In this section, we’ll look at a few global video game statistics that impact the gaming industry.
11. The Largest Video Gaming Market Is Asia Where There Are 1.48 Billion Players.
In the global gaming realm, Asia has the most gamers. It’s no surprise since there are many gaming companies in Asia.
Asia has an estimated 1.5 billion gamers of over 3.3 billion global players.
However, compared to the overall population of the continent, its percentage of gamers is lower than Europe’s.
Of Asia’s 1.48 billion gamers, 55% are male and 52% subscribe to at least one service for gaming.
(Statista 4)
12. European Demographics Reveal that 50% of People Aged 6 to 64 Play Video Games.
Between the ages of 6 and 64, every other European plays video games across all gaming platforms (mobile, PC, console, etc.).
Video gaming plays an essential role in Europe’s pop culture.
The average age of the European gamers is just over 31 years old, which is just a few years younger than in the United States.
Additionally, 23% of European video gamers are 45 years old and older. While the average age is 31.3 years old, the 45- to 64-year-old group is the largest demographic of gamers. Only 18% of gamers range from 6+ to 14 years old.
(ISFE)
13. The Philippines Has the Largest Percentage of Gamers per Capita.
The worldwide video game statistics show that 96.4% of the Filipino population plays video games.
Thailand comes in second, with 94.7% of global gamers. Indonesia (94.5%), Vietnam (93.4%), and India (92%) follow closely behind.
The United States doesn’t have the largest market share of gamers. They fall down the line in rank with 80.9% of the nation being gamers.
The United Kingdom percentage is 74.9%.
(Statista 4)
14. Video Gamers in China Spent About 12.39 Hours per Week Playing Games, According 2021 to Video Game Statistics.
China had the most dedicated players in the world playing 12.39 hours gaming each week, with Vietnam following closely behind at 10.16 hours of gaming per week.
Other countries with high weekly gaming hours include India, at 8.61 hours per week and Indonesia with 8.54 weekly gaming hours.
The United States video game demographics showed 7.71 weekly hours and Germany’s gamers played 7.13 hours weekly on average.
(Statista 5)
15. During the Global Pandemic, Video Gaming Saw Its Highest Growth.
It’s not surprise that during the COVID-19 global pandemic, video gaming experienced an all-time high, according to a June 2020 Nielsen report.
According to this data, 82% of worldwide consumers played and watched video games.
This data comes from the height of the pandemic, where the most significant numbers were achieved.
Even viewership on the Twitch platform went from 13 million to 31 million during the peak of the pandemic.
(Nielsen)
The Video Game Industry
This section of the article will include data related to the industry’s revenue, growth, and other industry stats important to you.
16. Video Gaming Data Estimated that The Worth of The Industry Came to $178.73 Billion in 2021.
Why is $178.73 billion significant? Because in 2020, it was 14.4% lower at just below $153 billion.
When we go back to 2016 when the gaming industry was worth $90.07 billion, which shows a massive acceleration in growth.
Since the global pandemic, video gaming has become an accepted and common hobby among almost all age groups.
The rather modest revenue and valuation forecasts provided before the pandemic were low, but not unusual.
(WEPC)
17. Forecasts Now Show that The Gaming Sector Market Value Could Reach Almost $340 Billion by 2027.
The valuation of the overarching gaming industry is expected to exceed $300 billion in just the next five years.
If this prediction holds true, that will represent a CAGR of 8.94% between 2022 and 2027.
The forecasted amount is $339.95 billion by 2027.
Due to the latest technologies and software advancements, the video gaming industry has become more accessible and appealing to more people.
Most gaming companies today are rewriting and launching code for various platforms like PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and others.
(Mordor Intelligence)
18. The Projected 2023 Figure for Mobile Gaming Growth Alone Is $172.10 Billion.
Experts are expecting and predicting that the mobile game market will be worth $172.10 billion in 2023.
The expectations show that it’s believed to see a 61% growth in 2023. This represents a CAGR of 6.54% between 2023 and 2027.
Also, by 2027, it’s expected that there will be 2,323.9 million users in the mobile gaming sector.
The user penetration predictions show a penetration of 25.1% in 2023 and is predicted to grow to 29.2% by 2027.
Most of the growth is believed to come from the United States in 2023.
Recent data shows that the average revenue per user in mobile gaming is expected to reach $89.38 in 2023.
(Statista 6)
19. It’s Estimated that By the End of 2023, There Will Be 1.3 Billion Global PC Gamers.
PC gaming is still a thing, believe it or not. In fact, PC gamers represent a sizable proportion of all gamers.
Due to the growing gaming markets in the Middle East, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa, further growth is expected in both PC and console gamers.
This year, 2023, is considered to be a massive milestone in the global gaming sector.
This year, the global number of gamers across all platforms will exceed 300 billion players.
This will represent a CAGR of 5.6% over 2015 to 2023.
(Newzoo 2)
20. The Console Sector of The Gaming Market Is Expected to Grow to $51.15 Billion in Value by 2027.
While the PC gaming sector is still at the top of its game (pun intended), gaming consoles are still doing well for themselves.
Mobile gaming is growing by leaps and bounds, but it seems that so is the console sector.
In 2019, the global market value for console gaming came to $34.27 billion.
Since the 5.3% CAGR is forecast over 2023 to 2027, it could reach or exceed $51.15 billion. Remember, that’s for the console gaming market alone.
(Global Newswire)
Video Game Buyers
This part of the article will cover the buyer demographics of video games. This will include data for mobile and other platforms.
A person is considered a “gamer” once they have bought at least three games.
These statistics come from purchases on platforms like Steam, Twitch, GameStop, Xbox, and Nintendo.
Once their gaming purchases exceed $20 over two years, they are categorized as gamers.
21. Dentists Are Considered the Least Likely to Buy Video Games.
Of all the career-minded gamers, dentists are the least likely to spend their hard-earned money on video games.
The data shows that only 5.8% of dentists buy games.
(Earnest)
22. People with High School Diplomas or Associate Degrees Represent the Highest Market of Those Who Buy Video Games.
People who attended and graduated from high school and/or have an associate degree are most likely to buy video games.
(Earnest)
23. People Between 18 and 24 Are More Apt to Buy Video Games than Their Older Counterparts.
This should come as no surprise since younger people enjoy gaming more than older people.
Many people over 24 have families and jobs that limit their time on gaming. However, as noted, many parents play games with their families, which is not counted in this data.
(Earnest)
24. People Who Earn Over $90,000 Annually Buy Fewer Games.
Therefore, people who make less money are buying more games than those who make over $90,000.
Why that’s a thing isn’t known because that isn’t yet included in the data.
(Earnest)
25. Individuals with Degrees Who Have Not Bought Games for A Time Are Less Likely to Buy Video Games.
The idea behind this is that time passes without playing video games when students have less time to play while they are getting a college or university education.
As time passes, they choose to spend money of things other than video games.
(Earnest)
Interesting Video Game Facts
Now, we will address some video game statistics, demographics, and facts that we haven’t yet addressed.
26. 65% of Women in The United States Between 10 and 65 Years Old Are Mobile Gamers.
This little bit of data may come as a shock to some, but 65% of women between 10- and 65-years old play games on mobile devices in the United States.
Likewise, this demographic accounts for 49% of all mobile video gamers.
(Digital Turbine)
27. The Global F2P Games Gaming Sector Is Expected to Grow to $83.64 Billion in 2023.
F2P stands for “free-to-play”, which are games that players can play without paying anything to play.
These are free games. They often include in-game ads and/or purchases.
The global market for F2P games had a market value of $73.8 billion in 2020. This is expected to reach $83.64 billion in 2023.
(Statista 7)
28. Digitally Formatted Games Account for 83% of Game Purchases.
This data includes digital format purchases through subscriptions, add-on content, full games, social networking games, and mobile games.
Only 17% of games are bought in physical form (i.e. CD/DVD).
For reference, 31% of all video game purchases were digital in 2010. This sector is seeing a lot of growth.
(LWOS, Statista 8)
29. 62% of North American People Are Playing Mobile Video Games.
According to the data, 63% of all North American gamers are playing mobile games.
This includes the entire known gaming population of the United States and Canada.
That percentage accounts for around 229 million dedicated active gamers in both countries.
The weekly play time is up by 27%, which accounts for the 16% growth in 2020 revenue in the mobile gaming industry.
(NPD)
30. The Quality of Graphics Is Considered the Most Important Aspect of Choosing a Game to Buy According to 66% of Gamers.
When gamers were interviewed about what’s important about a game, 66% said it’s the graphics.
Another 63% said price is the biggest factor. Also, 61% of gamers interviewed said a good story line or plot was most important.
Some other factors mentioned in the interviews included that a game was part of a series (51%) and that the game has online compatibility (50%).
Additionally, 42% of video gamers will buy a game without trying it first, while 30% will download a demo or trial first.
(The ESA)
eSports Facts
Electronic sports, eSports is a type of competitive gaming venue where multiple players can play but is also considered a spectator sport where people can watch players play games.
Since this gaming venue is part of the video gaming market, we will cover a few stats and facts about it here.
31. In 2022, eSports had 532 Million Global Viewers.
Officially, the first gaming competition (eSports) occurred on October 19, 1972. By the 80s, eSports competitions became a mainstream concept.
Over the 70 years of eSports gaming history, it has experienced significant growth all over the world.
This includes players, viewers, and gamblers on the platform.
The latest figure for global viewers is 532 million.
(Ipso, Insider Intelligence)
32. In November 2022, eSports was a 1.3-Billion-Dollar Industry.
With the rate of growth in video gaming, and competitive video gaming (playing, watching, and gambling), it’s expected to be worth much more in the coming years.
The expected growth by 2029 is $5.48 billion at a CAGR of 21% between 2022 and 2029.
(eSports, Fortune Business Insights)
33. The Age Demographics for E Sports Ranges from 18 to 34 Years Old.
Young adults represent the highest number of eSports fans. Therefore, they are from younger Millennials to the older Generation Z crowd.
Most of these fans have jobs/careers, which allows them to support their favorite events and teams through buying merchandise and investing in crowdfunding.
Esports has become a mainstream form of sports gaming entertainment since 1972.
(Gaming Street, Statista 9)
34. Males Make up The Largest Demographic of eSports Fans, at 72%.
We know that the overall gaming industry is almost equally split between the male and female demographic, but eSports still has mostly male fans.
However, the female demographic in eSports fans is growing.
The female fan demographics have gone from 41% in 2021 to 45% in 2022.
Therefore, the participation of women in eSports as viewers, players, and gamblers is growing.
(Finances Online 2, Colormatics)
35. Data Analysts Predict that 15.5% of Internet Users in The United States Will Be Watching eSports in 2023.
Analysts are predicting that 15.5% of people using the internet in the United States will be watching eSports at least once per month.
Based on that growth rate, the eSports industry is expected to exceed even major real-life sporting events including Formula 1 racing and Champions League.
Could this mean that eSports will outperform real-life sports?
(Euro News)
FAQ
How Many People Play Multiplayer Games?
According to video gaming stats, 56% of the most frequent and dedicated players play multiplayer games.
Also, they play at least once per week and spend, on average, 7 hours gaming with others.
What Kind of Games Do Multiplayer Gamers Prefer?
The data shows that 35% of multiplayer video gamers prefer shooter games.
Also, 28% prefer action games and 27% casual games.
Which Gaming Console Is the Most Popular?
PlayStation consoles are the most popular, according to global 2020-2021 data.
PlayStation consoles hold over 57% of the market, while Xbox holds 42%.
The console market is expected to grow to over $103 billion by 2026.
Why Do People Play Video Games?
There are several reasons people play video games. Here are the top five reasons, according to our research.
1. A way to pass spare time
2. Stress relief
3. A hobby
4. A challenge
5. For the immersive experience
6. To learn and discover new things
7. Creative expression
8. To engage and play with friends
9. As competition
10. Family quality time
Are Video Games Good for Your Brain?
Some games may be good for your brain. Here are ways that video games can stimulate your body and mind.
• Memory
• Mood
• Social skills
• Perception and vision
• Spatial visualization
• Physical fitness
• Problem solving skills
• Curiosity and learning
• Youthfulness
• Decision-making
Memory games, Hidden Object games, Sports games, First-Person Shooter games, and Simulation-style games are some of the genres that improve all aspects of your brain.
Physical games like Wii Sports, Nintendo Switch Sports, Zumba, Xbox Just Dance, PS2 Dance Dance Revolution, and similar games are great for physical fitness.
Conclusion
Playing and/or watching video games has become a big part of the world’s population’s lives. It’s no longer teens and kids playing games.
Today, young Gen-Zers to Baby Boomers and older are playing games.
While gaming was once almost primarily male dominated, today, it’s almost 50-50 male to female gamers.
Mobile gaming is on the rise among women, but we can surmise that it will equalize in the coming years, as will most all forms of gaming.
PC gaming is the most popular, with mobile gaming coming up quickly, and console gaming maintaining its popularity.
With over 2.6 billion gamers worldwide, the data, facts, and stats can be confusing.
That’s why we researched and wrote this article in an organized way to help our readers to get a clearer view.
We hope you have learned something new about video game demographics across the globe and in a few countries.