Over the last two decades, the business models of video games have progressively shifted from unit-sales-led towards engagement-led. This is due to a combination of factors; including the rise of in-game spending, subscription services, and interactive digital worlds that have become venues for experiences way beyond just gameplay in its traditional sense. This includes consumption of other entertainment formats such as music and video, and just as importantly, accommodating wider psychological needs such as socialising and self-expression. As this transition plays out, time spent on games is becoming an increasingly important metric for a wide variety of roles in the games industry – from financial planning, through to marketing and partnerships as well as for product teams. Going forward, time spent on games will play an increasing role in defining the commercial success of individual games and subscription service offerings.
However, this transition isn’t playing out evenly. Differences occur in terms of geography, platform, games genre, and of course the individual titles themselves. To action this transition and prioritise most effectively, games companies need to carefully monitor how and where in gaming gamers spend their time.
With this in mind, MIDiA recently published a report with key findings from its ‘games consumption model’.
At 7.6 hours per week, the average gamer plays just over one hour every day on average. US gamers spend the longest, while German gamers spent the least amount of time on games out of the nine countries in scope (US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Sweden, Brazil, and South Korea).
Other findings from the report zoom in on time spent on games based on a gamers’ platform (and brand, in terms of consoles), genre preferences, as well as the games they play.
Time spent is important, attention is crucial
While time spent is an important metric in its own right, MIDiA’s games consumption model goes a step further by modelling out how different gamer segments allocate attention to games while spending time on them. In entertainment, gaming is viewed to have a strong competitive positioning. The assumption is that gaming requires near undivided attention to play (unlike music and video, which are more frequently associated with background / passive activity). But a minute spent is not always a minute spent in terms of attention, and therefore value. Gamers spend most of their time (61%) on ‘focussed gaming’. 23%, however, is spent on gaming as ‘a background activity to something else’ and 15% of the time is ‘playing while socialising with friends about it’. Both background gameplay and social gameplay are ultimately forms of multitasking and therefore dilute the attention that consumers can allocate to any one proposition. It has implications across several roles, departments, and business models in entertainment. From estimating the value of advertising inventories in ad-supported games, through to informing product and interactive experience design, right up to informing business planning.
The Games Consumption Q1 2022 report is available to MIDiA’s platform subscribers.
To enquire about a subscription, please contact jonathan@midiaresearch.com
Alternatively, you can purchase the individual report here.
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FAQs
According to research from MIDiA, the average American gamer plays just over one hour daily, with an average of 7.6 hours per week. Compared to other countries, the U.S. reports the longest gaming time, with Germany reporting the shortest time.
How many hours a day does the average gamer play? ›
Between May and December 2020, U.S. teens aged 15 to 19 years spent an average 112.8 daily minutes on playing games and using computers for leisure, up from 73.8 minutes per day in the corresponding period of 2019. In 2022, the daily time spent on such activities among this age group decreased to 98.4 minutes per day.
How many hours do professional gamers play a day? ›
Video game and esports players in general play for an average of 24.4 ± 15.9 hours per week . The average daily duration of playing video games for video game and esports players is 230.4 ± 159.3 minutes . The average professional esports athlete spends 5.5 to 10 hours gaming daily .
How many hours a day is excessive gaming? ›
Gaming disorder means a person struggles to control how often they play video games which can be up to fourteen hours a day or more, with some cases resulting in violence, avoiding school and work, breakdown in family relations, and general withdrawal from society.
How many hours playing a video game is a lot? ›
While there isn't a consensus on how many hours of video games (and general screen time) is too much, the finding by Twenge and her colleagues that more than five hours per day is excessive seems reasonable.
Is 1 hour enough for gaming? ›
It's a good rule to set time limits on video games by a child's age. For kids over 6, experts say no more than 60 minutes on school days and 2 hours on non-school days. Kids under 6 should have a limit of less than one hour per day.
What is the average screen time for a gamer? ›
In the United States, the top three most popular social media activities were reading/watching the news, listening to music, and watching TV/movies. Again, Gen Z was an outlier, identifying video games as the most popular activity. Gen Z and Millennial gamers spend 11-13 hours on gameplay per week.
Is 4 hours of gaming a day too much? ›
There is no consensus on how much gaming is too much, though most experts agree the limit lies between 2-5 hours a day. Studies have shown that at little as one hour a day of screentime is best for young children.
How many hours does a casual gamer play? ›
Play Time Per Day
Occasional gamers play video games an average of 1 hour per weekday, most of the time in the evening or night. They don't usually play on a daily basis and will only play when their schedules allow them to do so. Instead, they play easy games on weekends or occasionally after work.
Is 15 hours of gaming bad? ›
This totals to about 18 hours per week.
15-20 hours every week is starting to overplay, and more than 21 hours every week(3hrs every day) is the type of gameplay that will start to have a detrimental impact on wellbeing according to this Oxford study. However that in itself isn't a gaming disorder.
Yousuf said pediatricians generally recommend the following guidelines: Under 2 years old: Zero screen time, except for video chatting with family or friends. 2-5 years old: No more than one hour per day co-viewing with a parent or sibling. 5-17 years old: Generally no more than two hours per day, except for homework.
Is 6 hours of gaming ok? ›
There is no set time limit for how long it is safe for adults to engage in video games. But, Jean Twenge, a psychology professor and researcher at San Diego State University, claims that “one to two hours a day is the safe limit for teens.”
Is 3 hours of video games too much? ›
Between hour 1 and 3, the experience doesn't necessarily improve mental health, but it's still engaging. Nearing the 3 hours mark, the benefits of gaming seem to drop off a cliff.
Is it okay to play video games all day? ›
Excessive video game use can lead to the brain being revved up in a constant state of hyperarousal. Hyperarousal looks different for each person. It can include difficulties with paying attention, managing emotions, controlling impulses, following directions and tolerating frustration.
Is 9 hours of video games too much? ›
While research suggests that behavioral issues can start to appear with children who play more than nine hours of video games a day – one hour on weekdays, two on weekends – many parents look for common signals that their child is playing too many video games, including: Irritability when not allowed to play games.
Is 20 hours of gaming a week too much? ›
This totals to about 18 hours per week.
15-20 hours every week is starting to overplay, and more than 21 hours every week(3hrs every day) is the type of gameplay that will start to have a detrimental impact on wellbeing according to this Oxford study. However that in itself isn't a gaming disorder.
Is 10 hours of gaming a day bad? ›
Studies show that those with gaming disorders typically spend eight to 10 hours a day or at least 30 hours a week playing video games. Besides the behavioral health concerns, other potential health risks can happen. These may include: Sedentary lifestyle.
