Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start…unfortunately, unlike retro video games, there is no cheat code to beat the coronavirus and end the quarantine. With the stay at home orders still active, online engagement in the US has increased dramatically since March of this year. According to data collected by Golden Casino News, online gaming was one of the most common at-home media activities. Just between March 12 and March 19, online gaming was reported to have increased by 75% week-over-week so don’t waste your time and see low wagering casinos to start your first game!
Prior to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the US online gaming industry was projected to hit 3.5 billion dollars in revenue this year. More specifically, online games refers to multiplayer online games and casual/social games that may be played in an internet browser or via an installed application. Included in this projection are subscription-based games such as World of Warcraft and free-to-play games with the option of in-game or premium content for purchase such as Fortnite. Due to a large amount of increased online gaming traffic, this projection is likely to increase before the end of the year.
Along with an increase in gaming traffic comes an increase in the pool of game players. Statistics have been released showing projected online gaming users to reach 63.7 million. By 2024, this number is expected to pass 66 million. On average, each online user amounts to roughly $56.30. I did the math… that’s over 3.7 billion dollars. That’s A LOT of Animal Crossing.
Besides snacks and booze, statistics have shown that Americans are willing to spend more money on video games during this lockdown. A survey conducted in the US showed that roughly one in five respondents planned to spend more time gaming due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This figure has shown to be most true in the 18-29 age group, where spending on video games has notably increased. For full details on the data collected by Golden Casino News, view the figures here. Excuse me while I do my part and make sure the projected statistics are accurate…*game loading*…
