Young people are drastically cutting spending on games. „A dangerous sign for gaming's future”

Young adult players are significantly cutting back on their spending on video games, according to analysts from the Circana group.

As Vice noted in a report for The Wall Street Journal, the analytics company indicated that Americans aged 18-24 (i.e., people born between 2001-2007, part of the so-called Gen Z) spend 25% less weekly on games than in 2024 (compared to a 5% decrease for other age groups). Only in the period from January to April, spending on games fell by 13%.

This is by no means the only category on which people of this age spend less than before. Nevertheless, it is on games that young Americans save the most. As they have more problems both with finding a job and with financial arrears (including student loans) than people outside Gen Z.

Source: Mat Piscatella on BlueSky.

Mat Piscatella from the Circana group vividly summarized the situation of Americans aged 18-24 (via BlueSky).

This is important because traditionally, younger people are the main consumers of video games (apart from minors), meaning they are the ones who should bring in revenue for the publishers. As Ana Valens from Vice wrote, if this age group is not willing to spend money on gaming, then as older players stop buying games (for example, to focus on family matters), the industry can expect a big drop in revenue. With all the big layoffs in recent years, it doesn't look good for the future of developers and publishers.

• gaming industry
• surveys and research
• the video games industry