Every year, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) releases data that impresses us, with 64% of the U.S. population playing games — or 205.1 million gamers, up from 61%, or 196 million, a year ago.
But the demographic reach of games is even more crazy, as 36% of the Silent Generation (ages 80 to 90) is now playing video games weekly.
That’s some of the latest data in the annual report, Essential Facts About the U.S. Video Game Industry, from the ESA, which is the game industry’s trade group.
While video games remain wildly popular among Generation Alpha (ages 5 to 12), with 83% playing video
games weekly, the 2025 report reveals that America’s favorite pastime isn’t just child’s play, said Stanley Pierre-Louis, CEO of the ESA, in an interview with GamesBeat.
“This year’s results provided a lot of great insights, as well as a few surprises in terms of the demographics,” Pierre-Louis said. “Nearly two thirds of Americans, ages five to 90, are playing video games. About 205 million Americans. And the gender split is roughly, you know, 50-50 between men and women. 47% women, 52% men. And that just shows that the continued staying power of video games in every demographic group.”
The surprises?
“If you look at the overall pie, 23% of those playing are under 18, but 28% of those playing are 50 years old and older. So you’ve got a much larger population of 50-year-old-plus players than you have under 18, which just speaks to the state of games for players throughout their lives, but also those who pick it up later in life and continue to play.”
He added, “If you look at generation alpha — ages five to 12 today — they have the highest percentage of players of those in that category who play, about 83%. But as you go up in range, you just have more people at high numbers. I thought it was interesting to see that nearly half of boomers are playing video games, but that women in the boomer generation are playing more than men, 52% to 46%.”
And he said, “And then in the Silent Generation, those 80 to 90, 36% of them are playing, which is up 6% from last year. So we saw growth occurring in that group over the past five to 10 years.”
The numbers and the trends
As noted, about 60% of adults (ages 18 and up) play video games every week and the average age of today’s player is now 36 years old. Americans continue to play games as they age, with nearly half of Boomers (ages 61 to 79) and 36% of the Silent Generation (ages 80-90) playing video games weekly.
This year’s report also explores preferences, behaviors and attitudes, with players of all ages saying video games are a great way to relax, have fun, keep their minds sharp and stay connected.
“Video games are a powerful cultural force that have a universal appeal across every demographic due to their widespread appeal as a fun and beneficial way to spend time,” said Pierre-Louis. “With nearly two-thirds of Americans regularly playing, it’s important to recognize that the nation’s most beloved form of entertainment also provides mental stimulation, stress relief and meaningful social connection that extends well beyond the moment of play.”
Gaming’s contradictions?
I asked whether there were some contradictions. The game industry has continued its inexorable demographic growth with so many generations playing games. But the game industry has had ups and downs with a few difficult years.
“If you look since COVID, it’s really risen dramatically each year and and I would say we’re getting some more notable players, particularly in that Boomer range,” Pierre-Louis said.
He noted that the newest pope, Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo the 14th, is a gamer.
“No one had that on their bingo card, but it just shows the range of games and and how people engage, both to get a reprieve from everyday life, but also to stay connected with friends and family,” he said. “I think those were some of the fun early insights we got in the data, and then obviously a lot more information about parents who play and how they engage with their kids. And when we looked at the data early on, we’re just seeing how many people in the older age categories are playing at an increasing rate each year.”
Highlights from the 2025 Essential Facts Report
Players represent every demographic.
- Nearly two-thirds of Americans ages 5 to 90 (205.1 million) regularly play video games.
- The average player is 36 years old and, on average, has been playing for 18 years.
- The split between men and women who play is about equal, with 47% women and 52% men. However, for older generations, women play more than men: 52% of Boomer women play video games, compared to 46% of Boomer men.
- Older generations are playing video games, with mental stimulation seen as a primary benefit.
- More than half of Generation X play video games every week, with 49% of Boomers and 36% of the Silent Generation also joining the fun.
- The top reasons Boomers and the Silent Generation play are to keep their minds sharp (65%) and to pass the time or relax (77%). They prefer puzzle (73%) and skill and chance (55%) games. Video games are fun and support mental, social and emotional health.
- U.S. adults (gamers and non-gamers) agree that video games bring people joy (84%), provide mental stimulation and stress relief (81%), provide accessible experiences (79%), help improve cognitive skills (77%), bring people together (76%) and are educational (70%).
- They also believe that video games can teach problem-solving (78%), teamwork and collaboration (69%), adaptability and resilience (60%), and STEAM (57%) and communication (53%) skills.
- Video games bring families together.
- Parents are more likely to play video games – 70% of parents play video games, compared to 60% of all adults.
- 82% of parents who play video games play with their kids, with 52% playing with their kids at least weekly.
- The top three reasons parents play with their children are because it’s fun for all of us (61%), a good opportunity to socialize with my child(ren) (55%) and a great way for the family to spend time together (55%).
- Parents like being in control and prefer video games to social media for their kids.
- 78% of parents whose children play video games regularly use ESRB ratings (Source: Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)).
- 86% use at least one parental control setting on their kids’ devices to manage their play (Source: ESRB).
- 70% of all parents say they prefer that their children spend time playing video games
than on social media.
Video games are a valuable way to build and maintain social connections.
- 55% of all players (ages 8 to 90) play video games with others weekly and 72% have
ever played video games with others. - 78% of all players believe video games can introduce them to new friends and
relationships. Generation Z feels it the most strongly (89%), while the majority of
Boomers and the Silent Generation (60%) agree. - Generation Z (70%) and Millennials (61%) have met people through video games they would not otherwise have met. They also say they met a good friend or significant other through video games (63% Generation Z, 49% Millennials).
- 79% of Generation Alpha and Generation Z play with their friends, and 55% of Generation Alpha plays with their parents.
- Video games transcend entertainment categories and influence real-life sports performance.
- Younger generations are more likely to find other forms of entertainment through video games, with Generation Z and Millennials reporting they discovered new songs (39% and 30% respectively) and new TV shows/movies (28% and 24% respectively) because of a game they played.
- 56% of adult players who play real-life sports play a video game version of the sport, with 87% of them believing it improves their real-life performance.
- Video games are an accessible outlet for fun, entertainment and connection for players with disabilities.
- Roughly one-in-five adult players report having a disability (21%).
- More than half of players with disabilities think video games are very accessible (56%), and close to half (49%) rated overall accessibility of video games to be extremely/very important.
- Of those who rated accessibility of video games to be extremely/very important, they
rated adjustable text size (50%), adjustable difficulty levels (39%), camera comfort (35%)
and subtitles (35%) to be the most important features in games.
Reasons why we play
Pierre-Louis said that more people are playing earlier in their lives, and video game play is part of who they are, as a hobby, as self expression, as a communication tool, as a way to connect with friends and family.
“So it’s becoming commonplace. It has been commonplace for some time, but we’re recognizing it as a common occurrence more and more. But seeing how people maintain that passion for games and finding different games that meet their needs as they play through different stages of their lives has been important,” Pierre-Louis said. “That speaks to the growth of game development, the growth of scope of kinds of games that people are playing, and how games fit into your lives in a different way as you age into different categories, you know, depending on the amount of time you have or the kind of interest you have as you develop as a player. So it’s exciting.”
Of course, the pandemic changed a lot of the reasons we played, and the post-pandemic trough meant people wanted to go back outside.
“Obviously, during the COVID cycle, there was a spike in video game play as people stayed home and were looking for outlets and for ways to stay connected. And so since COVID, both in terms of player engagement and revenue, there’s been an adjustment to what the trend would have been,” Pierre-Louis said. “But if you take out COVID and follow the trend lines, which are in the report, you will see that it is generally upward moving, and it’s been exponential in several years, but it continues to trend in the right direction.”
The reason people play games changes over time. Some want to deal with loneliness and become more social. Some want to relax. Some want to escape. Some want mental stimulation or mental health relief. Younger people want to be more competitive. Parents want to bond with their children.
“In different phases, the rationale changes, but we are beginning to see if you trended over years. There are certain categories of anticipation or behavioral expectations from players, and they might shift depending on the the stage each player might be going through in life,” he said. “Play is great for emotional development and emotional well being. Play is great for relaxation and stimulation. It’s great to release anxiety. And in fact, there are, you know, scientific studies that others do that point to the fact that 10 to 15 year olds who play games are just less stressed because it’s a great outlet.”
Reasons for growth
The part about mental stimulation matters as 56% of adults who play real-life sports play a video game version of that sport. And 87% of them believe it improves their real-life performance. In that way, games are viewed as useful simulations.
One of the things that is likely helping games grow is the popularity of games as fodder for movies and TV shows, which reach wider audiences of people who weren’t aware of games before.
“Seeing the continued growth of the video game audience is exciting. Seeing how older generations are playing games serves as another example of why so much of the misconceptions around games shouldn’t exist,” Pierre-Louis said. “In other words, the data we see this year continues to dispel myths and stereotypes about who plays games. The truth is, everyone’s playing, and there’s a game for everyone, and games form different parts of our lives and mean different things in our lives, at different stages of our lives, and that’s what this year’s data points to.”
In terms of the content, some players are playing old games. Pierre-Louis noted the parallel to TV, where Friends continues to be a very popular streaming show.
“Well made content wears well through any generation in any era, and one of the reasons people continue to love some of the games that that have been out for a while is that they were really well made games,” Pierre-Louis said. “They told a great story. The visuals were compelling, and the ability to play with others and connect may have enhanced that experience. So I think it’s a win win.”
Methodology
YouGov did the report. the company is a global research, data, and analytics group. Its data stems from a unique panel of 29+ million registered members across 55 countries, encapsulating some 18 million shopping trips and millions of interconnected data points.
YouGov and ESA conducted a 20-minute online survey in the U.S. from February 11-25 among 5,000 total respondents recruited from YouGov’s proprietary online panel. Data is weighted to be representative of the overall U.S. population in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, education, census region, and the distribution of video gamers who spend at least one hour/week playing video games on a smartphone, tablet, PC, console, or VR headset versus non-gamers.
“We conduct our survey to understand more about consumer demographics, attitudes and behaviors surrounding video games, and we call it the essential facts about video games, and we find it very useful for the industry and for policymakers and for the general public to understand what’s happening,” Pierre-Louis said.
