Gaming has quickly grown from a niche hobby to one of the largest markets in the entertainment industry. In fact, the gaming market is currently valued at $282 billion.
And that number continues to grow every year: by 2027, the gaming industry is expected to be worth more than $363 billion.
We take a closer look at the latest data on how many people consider themselves “gamers.”
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How many gamers are there? (Editor’s Picks)
There are approximately 3.09 billion active video game players worldwide. By 2024, the number of gamers worldwide is expected to reach 3.32 billion. There are over 3,000 eSports players in the United States. There are approximately 1.5 billion gamers in Asia. 53% of men are gamers. 52% of gamers subscribe to at least one gaming service.
How many gamers will there be in 2024?
According to the latest data, there are approximately 3.32 billion active video gamers worldwide.
This figure represents an increase of well over 1 billion in just eight years.
Below is a complete breakdown of active gamers around the world over time:
Year Number of gamers YoY increase rate YoY increase rate (%) 2015 2.03 billion people – – 2016 2.17 billion people 140 million people ↑ 6.9% 2017 2.33 billion people 160 million people ↑ 7.37% 2018 2.49 billion people 160 million people ↑ 6.87% 2019 2.64 billion 150 million ↑ 6.02% 2020 2.81 billion 170 million ↑ 6.44% 2021 2.96 billion 150 million ↑ 5.34% 2022 3.09 billion 130 million ↑ 4.39% 2023 3.22 billion People 130 million people ↑ 4.21% 2024 3.32 billion people 100 million people ↑ 3.11%
The video games market is worth an estimated $282 billion, and esports athletes are increasingly contributing to that number.
The latest data shows that the United States has more than three times as many active competitive esports players than any other country, which may not be surprising considering the U.S. video gaming industry alone is worth an estimated $106.82 billion.
In fact, the United States has almost as many active esports players (3,728) as the second and third place countries combined (3,471).
Let’s take a closer look at active competitive esports athletes by country.
Country Number of eSports Players United States 3,728 China 2,070 Brazil 1,401 South Korea 1,146 France 1,108 Germany 990 Australia 950 Japan 945 Russia 922 UK 872
Source: VentureBeat, Juniper Research, IBISWorld, eSportsEarnings
Gamers by Region
Asia has more than double the number of gamers (1.48 billion) than any other region. In fact, there are more active gamers in Asia than Europe, Latin America, and North America combined (1.42 billion).
Let’s take a closer look at the regional breakdown.
Region Number of Gamers Asia 1.48 billion Europe 715 million Latin America 420 million North America 285 million Middle East and North Africa 168 million Sub-Saharan Africa 144 million Oceania 32 million
Looking at the countries, Japan and the UK tied for the highest video game user penetration rate (58%).
As of 2027, the UK is predicted to top the list of countries where 70% of the population plays video games.
In terms of user penetration, the top five gaming countries are:
Country 2017 2022 2027 Japan 53% 58% 67% UK 50% 58% 70% Sweden 47% 51% 64% South Korea 45% 57% 64% France 43% – – Mexico – 53% – Nigeria – – 63%
Source: DFC Intelligence, Statista
Gamer Demographics
The majority of gamers in the US are male (55%).
In actual numbers, there are approximately 1.7 billion male gamers and 1.39 billion female gamers worldwide.
Since 2006, the gender distribution of gamers in the US has changed annually:
Year Male Gamers Female Gamers 2006 62% 38% 2007 62% 38% 2008 60% 40% 2009 60% 40% 2010 60% 40% 2011 58% 42% 2012 53% 47% 2013 55% 45% 2014 52% 48% 2015 56% 44% 2016 59% 41% 2017 59% 41% 2018 55% 45% 2019 54% 46% 2020 59% 41% 2021 55% 45% 2022 52% 48% 2023 53% 46%
According to the latest data, four in five gamers (80%) are over the age of 18, meaning there are 2.47 billion adult gamers. And there are 618 million gamers under the age of 18.
Let’s take a closer look at US gamers by age.
Age Group Percentage Number of Gamers Under 18 20% 618 million 18-34 38% 1.17 billion 35-44 14% 433 million 45-54 12% 371 million 55-64 9% 278 million 65+ 7% 216 million
Source: Theesa, Statista
Gamer Subscription
According to US gaming statistics, 52% of gamers subscribe to at least one gaming service, which translates to approximately 1.61 billion gamers worldwide.
In the U.S., console gamers (74%) are more likely to subscribe to a gaming service than PC gamers (66%). Extrapolating the data, 2.29 billion console gamers are likely to subscribe to a gaming service, while 2.04 billion PC gamers are just as likely to do so.
Focusing specifically on subscription services, the most recent data available suggests that there are roughly 100 million Xbox Live users worldwide.
This figure has more than doubled from just 39 million at the start of 2016.
Meanwhile, major competitor Sony had just under 50 million PlayStation Plus subscribers (47.3 million) as of June 2022.
This figure has more than doubled from 2016 (20.8 million).
Source: Morning Consult, Microsoft, Sony
Gamer Preferences
Two-thirds (66%) of gamers agree that the most common reason they play video games in the U.S. is to relax. Globally, that means 2.04 billion people play video games to relax.
As of February 2021, the top six reasons cited for playing video games are:
Reason Percentage of respondents Number of gamers (worldwide) To unwind, relax and relieve stress 66% 2.04 billion To fill time during breaks, waiting times and commutes 52% 1.61 billion To escape reality and have a lot of fun 51% 1.58 billion To spend time alone 48% 1.48 billion To solve problems, use your brain and think logically 37% 1.14 billion To find solace in something familiar 32% 990 million
The most popular video games in the US are casual games, with 63% of people claiming to play them regularly, followed by action games (39%) and shooters (39%).
If we apply these numbers to the global gamer population, we get:
Game type Percentage of respondents Number of gamers (worldwide) Casual games 63% 1.95 billion Action games 39% 1.21 billion Shooting games 39% 1.21 billion Racing games 37% 1.14 billion Family games 33% 1.02 billion Adventure games 31% 960 million
Source: Ipsos
Conclusion
The number of active gamers continues to grow every year.
Gaming has become a multi-billion dollar market that caters to just about every type of gamer imaginable.
And the industry shows no signs of slowing down.
Check out our other related pages: 7 Big Trends in the Gaming Industry and 45 Fastest-Growing Video Game Startups.
