- Circana
- Oct 14, 2024
- 2 min read
The majority of players are aged 45+, led by women, while kids aged 2-12 are experiencing the steepest declines in engagement
CHICAGO – Oct. 15, 2024 – Circana™, a leading advisor on the complexity of consumer behavior, released its 2024 U.S. Gamer Segmentation report, revealing that 71% of U.S. consumers play video games, with strong adoption across all demographic segments. The report also found that the average video game player uses at least three different devices, with 92% of gamers playing on their smartphone or tablet. However, 46% of video game players spent zero dollars on video game products during the past six months.
“During the pandemic, we saw a surge in incidental players who added gaming to their routines as public activities were put on hold; however, since then, many of these players have reversed course as life returned to normal,” said Mat Piscatella, video games industry advisor at Circana. “Despite a decline in overall player numbers, what stands out in today’s gaming landscape is that the most dedicated gamers have stayed – and they’re spending both more time and money in the experience. Adapting to today’s new and more mature market normal will be necessary to avoid another stumble.”
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
Boomers and older adults are the largest population in gaming. Adults aged 45 and older account for 37% of total U.S. video game players – mainly driven by women and an increased interest in console gaming. While it remains the largest share of gamers, engagement for this cohort decreased for the first time since 2018, but still experienced the most growth of any segment in terms of average spending over 2022.
Gen Alpha is less engaged than you might think. Children aged two to 12 had the most significant decline of any age group, down -6%, since 2022. On the other hand, while the average video game spending for teens and young adults is down slightly, these young players remain the industry’s most valuable age group in terms of both time and money spent.
All hail the “Super Gamers.” Accounting for 16% of total U.S. gamers and growing from 36 million in 2022 to 38.3 million players today, the “Super Gamers” are the industry’s most valuable consumers. This gamer segment, mostly made up of young males from the ages of 13 to 34, plays heavily across multiple platforms and spends significant amounts of money on gaming.
