Gaming expenditure trends in the United States
Consumer uptake and spending on gaming accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic before normalizing again in 2022. Digital gaming channels are outpacing physical sales in terms of revenue and the average annual U.S. household expenditure on video game hardware and accessories amounted to 34.61 U.S. dollars in 2021, a decrease from the 40.29 U.S. dollars in the preceding year. Gamers in the United States are also increasingly more willing to spend money on online gaming services (average annual HH expenditure: 11.01 U.S. dollars), with recent survey data indicating that at least half of all gamers in the United States subscribe to at least to one gaming service. The most popular subscription gaming service in the United States is Xbox Game Pass, followed by PlayStation Plus Premium and Nintendo Switch Online.Who are the U.S. gamers?
In 2022, there were an estimated 212 million gamers in the United States and annual growth of gaming audiences is set to remain stable until 2027. Women currently account for 48 percent of gamers in the United States. Approximately 36 percent of gamers in the United States are aged between 18 and 34 years, and gamers aged 18 years and younger account for 20 percent of U.S. users.U.S. user engagement and gamer activities
Despite the predominantly young skew of gamers in the United States, daily user engagement with playing video games and using computers as a leisure activity has increased across all age groups, including seniors. More than a quarter of gamers in the United States played approximately one to five hours of video games per week, and a further 18 percent spent six to ten hours on weekly gaming. Two thirds of U.S. gamers cited filling time and stress relief as their most important reason for gaming, and gaming as a hobby ranked closely behind. This need for short-form entertainment is also reflected in the most popular gaming genre in the United States, puzzle gaming.Spotlight: mobile gaming in the United States
Casual gaming is one of the strongest genres in mobile gaming, which in turn accounts for the majority of digital gaming revenues in the United States. The entry barriers for users wanting to try mobile gaming are low, and due to the large variety of genres and available gaming apps, there is something for every type of gamer. Between 2021 and 2022, action and tabletop were the fastest-growing mobile genres based on revenue growth.Streaming and eSports in the United States
Streaming platforms like Twitch or YouTube gaming enable fans to watch gaming video content without having to play the titles themselves and experience games together in a group setting. A March 2023 survey of U.S. gamers found that almost a third of respondents regularly used video streaming sites to watch gaming video content, and a further 21 percent stated that they broadcasted their gaming activities. Despite the global increase of gaming video content output and consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic, following gaming influencers is still far from mainstream in the United States.Steaming platforms are also the most common way for viewers to experience eSports, organized video game competitions with professional individual players or teams. The United States boasts the biggest competitive eSports player base worldwide, and one of the top professional eSports teams based on all-time winnings: Evil Geniuses. Founded in 1999, Evil Geniuses (EG) are based in Seattle, Washington, and are currently competing in MOBA titles DOTA 2, League of Legends, as well as first-person shooter Counter-Strike.
