The amount of money and time spent gaming has increased in 2021 and it’s being largely driven by boomers.
A new study from NPD has found that gamers aged 45-64 have been turning to gaming as they attempt to connect more with family and friends during the pandemic.
The report released on Thursday and first spotted by Gamespot reveals that the amount of time and money spent gaming in the previous six months is up 35% with the main driver being the 45 to 64-year-old demographic.
It’s an important demo considering the number of Americans who report playing games actually dropped from 79% to 76% year-over-year.
NPD says in the report, “Despite the decline in the number of people playing video games, the industry continues to see growth in the number of hours spent gaming.”
The number of playable hours in 2019 was 12.7 while it increased to 14.8 in 2020 and now 16.5% for a six-month period in 2022.
While there are fewer gamers in 2021, a reported 75% of gamers in the 45-64 age bracket said they play at least 16 hours per week. That number is up from 12 hours in 2020 and just 9 hours in 2019.
The data was collected from 5,000 gamers and may be indicative of a trend we’re seeing as gamers continue to connect with more people on gaming platforms as the pandemic rages on.