A Data Deep Dive on the Video Game Consumer

Gaming is increasingly taking over online and media experiences. Gaming culture is at the box office (“A Minecraft Movie” has made more than $900 million worldwide), in Sunday night prestige television (more than 5 million people watched the premiere of HBO’s video game adaptation “The Last of Us”), and alongside some of the biggest brands and celebrities (Fortnite has partnered with Crocs, Sabrina Carpenter, and even Balenciaga). 

According to data from Morning Consult Intelligence, everyone’s a gamer: those that say they play video games at least a few times a week closely resemble the general population. However, gamers do have some distinctions, especially when segmenting the cohort by device of choice, meaning it’s more important than ever for brands to understand these audiences. 

Gamers span across age, gender, and income levels

For this analysis, we define gamers as people who say they play computer, console, or mobile games at least a few times a week.

• Age: While gamers do tend to skew younger, they’re more evenly spread across age groups than people may assume, with 55% being Gen Z and millennials and 44% being Gen X and baby boomers.
• Gender: Though men make up a slightly bigger share of this consumer group, the gender skew is not as drastic as stereotypes often make it seem (53% men vs. 46% women).
• Race: The vast majority of gamers identify as white (74%), followed by Hispanic (20%), and Black (15%). 
• Income: Most of this cohort (54%) belongs to households that make less than $50k in annual income.

While gamers tend to be slightly younger and more likely to be men, their income levels don’t differ from the general population’s. This indicates that gaming is a hobby that doesn’t segregate by income, even though it can get expensive. At the same time, brands partnering with gaming properties should understand that not all partnerships will have the same reach potential, as ultra-expensive products may be out of reach for some. 

Shopping online and consuming a wide variety of media is common for gamers

Looking at broader consumption habits, gamers are bigger media, food and retail consumers than the average U.S. adult. They’re more likely to be online shoppers regardless of channel, with 48% saying they shop using a mobile app or website at least a few times a week and 17% making purchases through social media at the same cadence (versus 38% and 11% of the general population, respectively). 

Regarding food habits, gamers tend toward convenience and are more likely to say they consume all types of alcohol. Just above half said they use meal delivery services (+12 points higher than the general population), and 68% said they buy groceries online (+9 points). 

And as our past research has shown, gamers are very engaged media consumers. Compared to the average U.S. adult, they are:

• 5 points more likely to say they’ve gone to the movie theater five times or more in the last year
• 7 points more likely to say they watch sports daily
• 7 points more likely to have gone to a concert over the last year
• 10 points more likely to say they listen to music several times a day
• 10 points more likely to say they watch movies or shows on streaming services daily

Video games have been incredibly prevalent in Hollywood adaptations and across popular culture over the last few years, and will likely become even more so in the future. Gamers are tapped into both gaming culture and the broader zeitgeist, so they make up a highly attractive audience to industries outside of just gaming. And perhaps more importantly, gamers have shown that they’re willing to spend money online and time offline and in-person, and likely are primed to invest in experiences that speak to them. 

Console gamers are the most fervent consumers 

If gamers are already fervent consumers, console gamers over-index even more, presenting a big opportunity for brands. Defined as those who play video games on consoles — i.e., Nintendo Switches, Playstations, or Xboxes — this group is extremely online and very digitally friendly. 

They’re more likely to be on every streaming platform Morning Consult tracks, listen to podcasts daily and visit a movie theater compared with all gamers. They’re also big social media users.

Gamers over-index on Twitch, the live streaming platform widely but not exclusively known for video game streaming, with 30% saying they use the platform versus 19% of the general population. But usage by console gamers is even stronger with 44% saying they are users of the platform. Other social media platforms that see the widest gap between gamers and console games tend to appeal to younger audiences like X (formerly Twitter) and Snapchat. When it comes to how they’re spending time on social platforms, console gamers are more likely to say they’re watching live streams, following celebrities or influencers, and discussing opinions with others compared with both gamers in general and the average adult. They’re also far more likely than both groups to follow sports people and teams. 

As mentioned above, gamers are avid sports consumers, and console gamers are consistently more likely to say they engage with various leagues, media properties, and sports activities tracked by Morning Consult.

For example, console gamers are 20 points more likely than the general population and 11 points more likely than all gamers to say they watch the NBA. A similar trend exists when it comes to watching the NFL and ESPN. This population not only engages with sports brands but also partakes in sporty activities themselves. They’re 22 points more likely than the average adult and 7 points more likely than all gamers to say they play or practice a sport at least weekly and are more likely to engage with weightlifting. 

There are plenty of examples of sporting brands or celebrities partnering with games, such as when Adidas brought accessories and digital clothes to Roblox or when LeBron James’ appearance was a purchasable cosmetic in Fortnite. Several protein or sports drinks have also partnered with or sponsored esports teams. Sporting brands looking to reach gamers will find an audience already primed and engaged.

Compared with console gamers, computer and mobile gamers are more diverse across gender, age and income

If console gamers are the uber consumer within the broader gamer cohort, PC and mobile gamers are relatively less fervent. 

Computer and mobile gamers are less likely to be frequent online shoppers, daily music or podcast listeners, regular sports watchers, and so forth. And while console gamers often dip into PC or mobile gaming, PC and mobile gamers are less likely to play games with PlayStations or Xboxes. 

But what computer and mobile gamers lack in frequency of consumption, they make up for in other ways — mainly that these two groups are more diverse across age and gender, and are slightly wealthier. Roughly half of computer and mobile gamers are Gen X and baby boomers, compared with just 27% of console gamers. 

Higher shares of PC gamers make an annual income of $100,000 or above, which makes sense given that PC games require substantial initial equipment investment compared to the other two gaming platforms. A console may cost a few hundred dollars, while PC gamers can spend thousands. And as for mobile gamers, they stand out when it comes to gender makeup: They are the only group of gamers to be made up of a majority of women (52%), versus 44% of PC gamers and a lackluster 33% of console gamers.

Gamers are a crucial target demographic for all kinds of brand investments, for gaming companies and those just looking for an engaged, diverse group of hobbyists who have plenty of interests outside of their hobby. It’s essential to know how gamers broadly differ from the general population, and even more to drill down on the different gaming platforms, which oftentimes produce entirely separate ecosystems of participants. Console gamers can help propel messaging and marketing online because of their presence in all facets of consumption, while computer and mobile gamers can help brands tap into groups historically under-wooed by the gaming industry.