Video Game Demographics: 76 User Facts & Numbers [2023]

Who exactly plays video games?

In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the demographics of video game players, exploring factors such as age, gender, income, and education level.

By understanding who is playing video games, we can gain a better insight into this rapidly growing industry.

Quick Demographic Facts About Video Game Players

• The number of video game users in the United States is projected to increase from 2017 to 2027.
• Gaming penetration in the U.S. stands at 82.9%.
• 21% of video game players are under 18 years old.
• 26% of video game players in the US are aged between 34 and 54.
• 64% of US adults and 70% of individuals under 18 play video games regularly.
• 54% of gamers in 2022 use their smartphones for gaming.
• Nearly 227 million Americans play video games.
• Two thirds of adults and three quarters of kids under 18 play video games weekly.
• 80% of players are over 18, and the average age of a video game player is 31.
• Players are about half female (45%) and half male (55%).
• More than 214 million people in the United States play video games one hour or more per week.
• 75% of all U.S. households have at least one person who plays video games.

Here’s data on demographics for Xbox users.

These figures reveal the widespread popularity and diverse demographic makeup of video game players, which make it an important subject for social and economic studies.

Age Demographics

• The average age of a video game player in the US is 35 to 44 years old.
• 38% of video game players in the US are aged 18 to 34.
• 26% of players are aged 35 to 54, while 21% are under 18.
• Gamers aged between 26 to 35 spend 7.5 hours a week playing, the highest among all age groups.
• About 72% of men younger than 30 say they play video games often or sometimes, compared to 49% of women in the same age group.
• Among those ages 30 to 49, 58% of men and 48% of women play video games.
• For adults over 50, 27% of men and 30% of women say they play video games.

Age demographics breakdown from a 2021 survey:

• • Under 18 years: 20%
  • 18 to 34 years: 38%
  • 35-44 years: 14%
  • 45 to 54 years: 12%
  • 55 to 64 years: 9%
  • 65 and older: 7%

Among U.S. teens aged 13 to 18 years old:

• • 46% play games on mobile
  • 27% through a video console
  • 17% on a computer

Gamers aged between 26 to 35 spend the highest amount of time playing at 7.5 hours a week, while gamers over 60 years old spend the least time playing, averaging 4.7 hours a week.

Here are the demographics for horror game players.

It’s evident that the gaming audience is diverse, and efforts to accommodate players of various genders and age groups have paid off in recent years.

These statistics demonstrate the diverse age range of video game players and emphasize that gaming is a widespread activity enjoyed by various age groups in the United States.

Gender Demographics

• In 2022, 48% of gamers in the United States were women, up from 45% during the previous year.
• In 2020, women accounted for nearly 41% of all gamers in the United States.
• In Asia, which accounts for 48% of the world’s gaming market, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of female gamers as well.

Ethnicity Demographics

• In the United States, gaming penetration reaches up to 82.9%.
• Among racial and ethnic groups in the US, there are differences in gaming preferences and opinions about the effects of video games.
• 52% of Hispanics agree that playing violent video games can lead to actual violence, while 39% of Blacks and 37% of Caucasians share the same viewpoint.
• In the United Kingdom, only 4% of game designers come from Black or Asian backgrounds, down from 4.7% in 2012 and below the national average of 10% across all sectors.

There is a notable disparity in the racial and ethnic makeup within the video game industry, especially among game designers in the United Kingdom.

Education Level Demographics

• 36.7% of gamers in the U.S. have graduated from college

These findings indicate a diverse range of educational backgrounds and ages in the gaming community, suggesting that video games have become a popular form of entertainment and engagement across varying demographics.

This is quite different from the demographics of mobile game players.

Average Income Level

• In 2021, most video game players in the United States were found among people with high income levels.
• The lower the income, the fewer video game players were estimated according to the Statista Consumer Market Outlook.

The data reveals that video game players in the United States predominantly belong to higher income groups, with a diverse range of age demographics, signaling the widespread appeal of gaming across different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Other Interesting Facts About Video Games

• The global gaming penetration in 2022 was 82.9%.
• The average age of a video game player is 33 years old.
• 48% of video game players are female, while 52% are male.
• 92% of teen boys have access to a game console, compared to 75% of teen girls, and 97% of boys play video games on some device, as opposed to 83% of girls.
• In 2018, 43% of gamers were adults over the age of 35, with 20% of the overall number being 36-49 years old and 23% being 50 years or older.
• 32% of women video gamers played five times a week on mobile in 2022.
• In 2022, the global video game market size was valued at $177.8 billion.
• The United States is the largest video game market, with a revenue of $60.4 billion in 2022.
• The global video game industry is expected to reach a market value of $295.63 billion by 2026.
• The most popular video game genre in 2022 was action, followed by shooters, sports, and role-playing games.
• In 2021, “Fortnite” had over 350 million registered players worldwide.
• In 2022, the mobile gaming market was valued at $109.1 billion.
• In 2022, mobile games accounted for 57% of the total gaming market revenue worldwide.
• “Candy Crush Saga” is the most downloaded mobile game of all time, with over 3 billion downloads.
• The average mobile gamer plays for 16 minutes per session, while console and PC gamers play for 2-3 hours per session.
• The video game industry supports over 200,000 jobs in the United States alone.
• In 2020, the video game industry contributed $90 billion to the US economy.
• In 2021, the most popular video game streaming platform was Twitch, with 9.36 million active streamers.
• “Minecraft” is the best-selling video game of all time, with over 200 million copies sold.
• The highest grossing video game franchise of all time is “Pokémon,” with a total revenue of over $100 billion.
• In 2022, the video game console market was valued at $60.4 billion.
• The best-selling video game console of all time is the PlayStation 2, with over 155 million units sold.
• In 2022, the most popular video game console was the PlayStation 5, followed by the Xbox Series X/S and the Nintendo Switch.
• In 2022, the most anticipated video game release was “Elden Ring,” followed by “Starfield” and “Halo Infinite.”
• The first video game Easter egg was found in “Adventure” for the Atari 2600 console in 1980.
• The world’s largest video game collection belongs to Antonio Romero Monteiro and includes over 20,000 video games.

The data shows a diverse demographic of video game players, with a wide range of age groups and gender participation found across different platforms.

Sources

• https://www.ign.com/articles/2020/05/07/2020-video-game-industry-statistics-trends-data
• https://www.techjury.net/blog/video-game-statistics/
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/748044/number-video-gamers-world/
• https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/asia-pacific-games-market-2021/
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/1105424/gaming-frequency-united-states/
• https://www.businessinsider.com/video-game-industry-earnings-revenue-2020-2023-2019-8
• https://www.businessinsider.com/video-gaming-industry-market-trends-analysis-revenue-growth-2021
• https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/average-age-of-a-gamer/
• https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-06-08-us-games-market-to-hit-200-billion-by-2024-report
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/189582/age-of-us-video-game-players-since-2010/
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/1121122/gamers-by-gender-usa/
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/716238/mobile-gaming-penetration-in-the-us/
• https://www.theesa.com/esa-research/2021-essential-facts-about-the-video-game-industry/
• https://www.theesa.com/esa-research/2020-essential-facts-about-the-video-game-industry/
• https://www.statista.com/topics/1756/video-gaming-audiences-in-the-united-states/
• https://www.dailygame.net/gaming/console-gaming/console-demographics
• https://www.techjury.net/blog/video-game-demographics
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/232383/gender-split-of-us-computer-and-video-gamers/
• https://www.statista.com/topics/3070/video-gaming-audiences-in-the-united-states/