Gaming still carries a “young guy” stereotype, but new data shows today’s average gamer is closer to middle age. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a major lobbying group for the gaming industry, has published the results from one of its largest consumer surveys, which found the average age of a gamer is 41 years old.
The survey is somewhat skewed since it only polled gamers aged 16 and older. Nevertheless, the study is quite expansive, surveying 24,216 players across 26 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The respondents also identified themselves as “active gamers,” who play video games for at least one hour per week.
The survey results on a global basis. (Credit: ESA)
The survey also suggests that the average gamer in the US is older; 56% of the respondents in the US classified themselves as 45 years or older. “China is the country with the lowest average player age at 32; Italy has the highest at age 50,” the ESA added.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for the ESA also told PCMag that for the US the survey found the average age of the player to be 49. That said, another survey released in June that looked at players as young as 5 years old found the average age of a gamer in the US to be 36.
It’s not all that surprising, though. Video games boomed in the 1980s and 1990s, when kids had consoles from Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. Those players have since grown up and transitioned to modern devices like the PS5 and Switch 2. At the same time, gaming has become more accessible with free mobile apps, making it easy for anyone to play.
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The survey results for the US. (Credit: ESA)
Another interesting finding is how gaming is split fairly evenly between men and women, with 51% of survey respondents identifying themselves as male and 48% as female. The ESA also found: “There are several countries where significantly more women than men play video games, including Brazil (57% to 43%) and South Africa (58% to 41%).”
The survey goes on to highlight how gaming has become a popular form of entertainment, whether for fun, relaxation, or to keep the brain sharp. However, it appears that a majority of gaming is taking place on smartphones; 55% of respondents said they preferred to game on mobile, while 21% picked PC, and another 21% picked console.
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Michael Kan
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I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
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