The Lockdown due to the corona virus is still going on and one of the most popular hobbies in the world right now is gaming. After all, the market has more than enough to offer and there is something for everyone, be it the hardcore gamer or newcomers.
But what are people currently playing around the world? Which games show extreme increases in the number of players and which are rather left out? And why are we currently playing so much? A new study wants to answer all these and more questions and provides us with interesting insights into the current situation.
Shooters and … gambling are currently booming?
The study comes from analysts from the US website NewZoo, who specialize in analyzing the games market. For this purpose, 1204 players from the USA, Italy and Japan between the ages of ten and 30 were interviewed in order to ensure the most diverse overview possible. The study relates to the period from December 2019 to March 2020.
As the results show, the shooter genre is particularly popular: Over the same period, the proportion of players increased by a full 40%, making it the largest growth in the entire survey. The experts are particularly responsible for Rainbow Six: Siege and Escape from Tarkov. While the latter was able to drive up the number of players especially with its last update, Rainbow Six presented thanks to huge player growth from China.
more on the subject
Gameplay for AC: Valhalla in early May
Battle Royales lie, however, can not register a large increase. Although CoD: Warzone, Fortnite, Apex Legends and Co. are still flourishing, players seem to pounce on other genres in these unusual times. However, it must also be emphasized that the study is pre-e.g. Travis Scott's Fortnite concert or the Giant Update 1.20 for Warzone. Still, these events are unlikely to knock the other representatives on the list off the throne.
MOBAs and fighting games are far behind: In general, according to the analysts, all genres experienced a boost in terms of their number of players – except for MOBAs and fighting games. Although both Dota 2 and League of Legends on the side of MOBAs as well as fighting games like Mortal Kombat 11 or DragonBall FighterZ are still very popular, despite the general increase fewer players seem to pounce on this genre. This is probably due to the fact that such genres are less friendly to beginners. After all, many newcomers are currently gaming, who will probably start with arcade games or something similar.
The analysts noted further increases in the number of players in the following genres, for example:
- Games of chance (+ 36%)
- Card games (+ 34%)
- Arcade games (+ 28%)
- Platformer (+ 25%)
The experts could not say why games of chance are the most popular genre after the shooters – but probably most of them are mobile games.
As for Platformer, the success is largely thanks to the recently released Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The situation is similar with the card games, where people mainly played Legends of Runeterra.
more on the subject
Ori and the Will of the Wisps in the test
Why are we currently playing more?
Of course, the analysts also asked their test subjects why they are currently spending more time in front of the screen than usual. The answer was as unanimous as can be seen: Because it works! With home office or short-time work, people simply have more time, and if you are not allowed to go out, why not gamble or throw Netfix? At 45%, this was the most common answer, but there are other reasons. With approx. 15% each, the following were also mentioned:
- To maintain social contacts
- To escape the current situation
- Because the situation at home has changed
- Because friends and family started it too
So you can see that there are more than enough reasons to devote yourself to the more than gigantic games market and to give one of the most popular hobbies a chance. 2020 is a strong year regardless of the corona crisis, as games like Cyberpunk 2077 still await us this year. If you want to get into a cyberpunk mood, Cloudpunk could be just the right thing: colleague explains why Elena in her test for sci-fi delivery service.
