Statistics show that young Americans spending on gaming has dropped sharply

2025-07-23 23:08:34|Myriagame |source：minecraft skins

In 2025, young Americans' gaming spending dropped sharply.

Circana’s new data shows that players aged 18 to 24 have reduced their purchase spending on video games by nearly 25% year-on-year, a drop of more than any other age group.This decline is more significant than the decline in tech products, clothing or accessories – where spending has also declined.

Spending on all categories of this age group fell by 13% from January to April this year, while video games fell the steepest.

The Wall Street Journal reported the data and pointed out that economic pressure was the main reason.Last fall, U.S. student loan repayments restarted, and credit card default rates rose to their highest level since the pre-pandemic — especially for borrowers under 30 years old.Meanwhile, game publishers have raised the price of the game to $70 or $80, while the in-game purchase mechanism is still expanding.

"It has become much harder for young graduates to find a job. Credit card default rates have risen to their highest point since the pre-pandemic pandemic."

Matt Piscatra of Circana pointed out that players are still playing the game, but the way is different.Free-to-play games and subscription services are once again favored because more players want to get value without prepaying.This shift may explain why subscription users for services such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus have increased recently—the number of users that have stalled in previous years.

Nevertheless, these data have changed industry forecasts.Circana has lowered its U.S. gaming revenue forecast in 2025 to $56.5 billion, down 4.7% from 2024, the lowest level since 2019.Previous forecasts had expected a 4.3% increase, largely based on the assumption that GTA 6 will launch later this year.

“Consumers have become a little hesitant,” Piscatra said. “They need to believe that their spending on the game brings enough value.”

The downturn in the gaming industry is also accompanied by a historic wave of layoffs.After laying off 14,600 employees last year, more than 2,800 developers have been unemployed so far in 2025.Microsoft's latest round of layoffs alone could make this number exceed 10,000.

The launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 in June could boost spending in the second quarter, while GTA 6 is expected to set an industry-wide record.But during this period, many young players chose to skip the release of new games altogether.

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