Name: Two little boys are playing video games at home sitting on sofa.
For younger generations, video games have become the main source of entertainment and leisure time. According to a report by Newzoo, around 81% of Gen Z responders reported to have played video games in the past six months, and the young generation averages over seven hours played a week.
While this is certainly a large number, it is nothing surprising. A lot of millennials and Gen Z-ers grew up at a time when video games became more accessible as technology advanced, and now as they grow up with their own disposable income to use, they have turned to spending that on gaming.
And for many of these young people, it’s not just the games themselves. Gaming has turned into an all-encompassing social platform where gamers can hang out with their friends, cheer on their favorite esports teams, obtain real-life skills and learn in an educational setting.
Gen Z and millennials prefer to spend more of their free time on new media, as opposed to reading, listening to music, and watching cable TV. (Image: Newzoo)
With gaming being ingrained in so many young gamers’ lives, companies such as Riot, Epic, Valve, and so many others have turned that love for gaming into a multi-billion dollar industry, and it is growing every day.
According to Statista, the video game market is currently valued at an estimated $178.37 billion, and it is projected to reach $268.81 billion by 2025. As younger generations become more and more invested into gaming, both time-wise and monetarily, the industry will continue its upwards trajectory for generations to come.
For companies looking to get into the gaming and esports market, it’s not a matter of if they should join, it’s a matter of when they will. We are living in the age of gaming, with millions of millennials and Gen Z-ers preferring to spend their time on games as opposed to traditional media.
The industry faces unprecedented growth as the next generation soon becomes a generation of gamers. The industry has overtaken the revenue of both the music and movie industries combined, and this trend will certainly continue into the future.
