Girls, Older Adults Make Up Majority of U.S. Players, New Research Finds

A brand new examine has discovered that ladies make up greater than half of U.S. players and that 22% of American players are over the age of 65.

For many years, unflattering stereotypes of players as torpid younger males partaking in an isolating interest have persevered in standard tradition. From Eric Cartman gluing himself to “World of Warcraft” in an episode of “South Park” to sci-fi franchises like “Tron” and “Ready Player One” depicting video video games as harmful types of escapism from actuality, players have been portrayed as indifferent and typically devious members of a juvenile subculture.

As gaming turns into a extra mainstream exercise, nevertheless, these stereotypes develop extra archaic, and a brand new examine from the Entertainment Software Association means that the common picture of a gamer as a lonely younger male is not only outdated, however inaccurate.

The ESA’s “Power of Play” report showcases the outcomes of a 2025 survey that gathered information and responses from 24,216 players throughout 21 international locations. Participants have been aged 16 – 65+ and so they all recognized as energetic players. The ESA, which is the premiere commerce affiliation for the online game trade within the United States, organized the examine with different international locations’ online game associations and world client analysis firm AudienceNet.

The examine’s outcomes present that players don’t conform to any single archetype of an individual, and that the typical gamer is each older and fewer more likely to be male than the stereotype would possibly counsel. The common gamer, in line with the worldwide examine, is 41 years outdated. The nation with the oldest common gamer is Italy, with the typical gamer being 50, and the nation with the youngest common gamer is China, with the typical gamer being 31.

In the U.S., the age group with the best variety of players is definitely the 65+ age group, which accounted for 22% of the nation’s players. The smallest group within the U.S. was the youngest, with 16-24 12 months olds solely making up 9%.

Moreover, the gender divide amongst players is much much less skewed in direction of males than one would possibly anticipate, and in some international locations the typical gamer is extra more likely to be feminine. Globally, 51% of the players within the examine recognized as male, and 48% recognized as feminine, almost even. The majority of American players are literally feminine at 52%. Meanwhile, players in international locations like Brazil and South Africa skew closely feminine, with ladies making up 57% and 58% of their gamer populations, respectively.

These expectation-defying outcomes are partially as a result of definitions of video video games and gaming being much more broad than preliminary assumptions. Video video games usually are not simply the most recent shooter or fight titles launched for gaming consuls and PCs. They embrace puzzle video games, position enjoying video games, talent and likelihood video games, technique video games, simulations and extra, and the most well-liked gaming machine is a cell phone or pill.

In an unique interview with Variety, ESA senior vp Aubrey Quinn says, “The misconception is that people think of video games as ‘I’m sitting down at my PC or console, and I’m playing a first person shooter game.’ That’s really an unfortunate stereotype that has stuck to video games. Just like movies or music, there is a genre for everyone.”

Video video games can embrace on-line variations of age-old video games like sudoku, solitaire or Monopoly, or new favorites like Wordle or the New York Times Crossword puzzle, which magnetize gamers of all demographics.

Quinn and the ESA stress the truth that as a result of gaming can embody so many various types of engagement and play, the influence of gaming is manifold and, because the examine attests, largely optimistic. “Power of Play” respondents reported that gaming helps them really feel much less burdened, much less anxious, much less alone, extra artistic, and mentally sharper.

While having enjoyable stays the most typical motive folks flip to gaming, it’s carefully adopted by stress aid and mind train. 76% of respondents additionally famous that gaming helps their drawback fixing skills and 50% mentioned that it positively impacted their skilled schooling or careers due to the technical and behavioral abilities gaming helps accrue.

“The skill sets that people experience through gameplay translate outside of gameplay,” Quinn tells Variety, “They say, ‘This makes me more resilient. This makes me more adaptable and more teamwork oriented. My reading skills are improved. My problem solving skills are improved.’ Being able to figure out new strategies and accomplish something, those are skills that players experience, and we’ve seen academics and researchers really begin to validate that player experience.”

Like many types of standard tradition, from tv to comedian books to rock and roll music, video video games have confronted stigma and concern of their rise to recognition. “They even thought that the printing press was bound to make us all lazy,” quips Quinn, “I think there is a little bit of a stubborn misconception about video games and the impact they have. Research shows that there are enormous mental, social, economic, positive benefits of game play and game creation.”