The overall UK gaming population has increased by 63 per cent during lockdown, according to Opinium’s latest report into the sector.

The online survey of 2,000 UK adults in June showed that the amount spent on gaming has increased by a third during the Coronavirus crisis, with women - who traditionally tend to spend less on games - largely responsible for the rise, increasing their spending by 55 per cent during the last six months.

Overall, average gaming time during the pandemic has increased by two hours per week, equating to a 35 per cent rise. Again, women account for a large proportion of this, increasing the time they have spent gaming by 44 per cent.

Almost two in five (38 per cent) of all gamers intend to keep playing as much as they do now even when lockdown ends. Meanwhile, 35 per cent of new gamers plan to start playing more even after lockdown.

The rise in gamers during lockdown can be attributed to what the report identified as the rise of ‘Covideogamers’ – people who have only started gaming during lockdown. This group currently makes up 18 per cent of the gaming population. Nearly half (46 per cent) are under 34 and one in five are based in London.

The majority have started playing due to an increase of free time, with over a third (37 per cent) reporting they play out of boredom. Two thirds of all gamers agreed that gaming was a great way to escape the current crisis, with 55 per cent stating that gaming was helping them get through lockdown.

James Endersby, chief executive at Opinium, commented: “With lockdown restrictions getting tighter, time and money spent on gaming shows no sign of abetting.

“There will no doubt be some winners and some losers, but retention will be key – how brands react, listen and tailor their products to the diverse needs of their customers - old and new - will be critical to their success.”

A separate report from Juniper Research suggested that video games service platforms, such as EA Play and PlayStation Now, will grow to an $11 billion sector by 2025, up from an estimated $6.6 billion this year.

These platforms represent a new revenue stream for an industry experiencing a revenue decline of around three per cent per year over the next five years.

However, Juniper Research noted that cloud gaming subscriptions are only likely to comprise around a quarter of this revenue over the forecast period, as more general service platforms have fewer limits on their adoption.

Subscriptions accessed through PCs will be the biggest segment; accounting for over $5 billion in revenue in 2025. This will be dominated by games publishers, as they can make the most popular titles exclusive to their services, and supplement them with studio acquisitions. While tie-ups between services do exist, such as that recently announced by EA Play and Xbox Game Pass, these will become less common as the space grows.

Despite a booming mobile games market, mobile games subscriptions will be niche, with less than one per cent of mobile gamers worldwide using a games subscription service on their smartphone.

Meanwhile, cloud gaming is not being held back by demand for the services, which already have millions of users, but by a lack of awareness in many places. Slow data speeds also limit its reach in many markets, as data is needed for playability. Juniper Research stated that this will limit the technology’s adoption to around one per cent of active gamers globally.

“Cloud gaming is a highly concentrated market, with over 60 per cent of anticipated subscriptions to be in the US and China,” remarked research co-author James Moar.

“Targeting specific types of players in these markets will bring sustainable success, but awareness of cloud gaming outside of particular gamer segments will keep the market niche.”

Share Story: