Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways
- Global gaming market overview
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- Figure 1: Global gaming revenue, 2015-20
- Women drive growth in the US gaming audience
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- Figure 2: Share of adults playing video games, by gender, 2018-20
- Gender gap closes with mobile gaming
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- Figure 3: Devices used to play video games, by gender, May 2020
- Impact of COVID-19 on women and gaming
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- Figure 4: Short, medium and long-term impact of COVID-19 on women and gaming, July 2020
- Opportunities and challenges
- Out-of-home leisure takes longer to open up, allowing women to more easily keep playing video games
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- Figure 5: How much women are gaming since COVID-19 outbreak, May 2020
- Genre and story should be main points of emphasis
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- Figure 6: Important video game features to female gamers – Select items, May 2020
- New players bring new opportunities for education
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- Figure 7: When players were introduced to gaming, all vs female, May 2020
- Toxic environment keeps women from exploring beyond their comfort zones
- Women are less likely to watch gaming content
- Free content will become more essential
- What’s next
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Gaming market on the rise
- Women drive audience growth in gaming
- Competition heats up for women’s free time
- Gender dynamics affect what’s played
Global Gaming Overview
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- Gaming revenue is rising around the world
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- Figure 8: Global gaming revenue, 2015-20
- Mobile gaming generates the most revenue by reaching the largest audience
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- Figure 9: Global gaming market share, by type of device, 2020
- Impact of COVID-19 on women and gaming
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- Figure 10: Short, medium and long-term impact of COVID-19 on women and gaming, July 2020
- COVID-19: US context
Women and Gaming Overview
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- Two thirds of women play video games, driving growth in the gaming audience
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- Figure 11: Share of adults playing video games, by gender, 2018-20
- Engaged female gamers skew younger, multicultural
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- Figure 12: Share of women playing video games, by key demographics, May 2020
- Gaming is a daily routine
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- Figure 13: Frequency of gaming for female gamers, May 2020
- Women less drawn to competition
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- Figure 14: Reasons to play video games, all vs female, May 2020
Market Perspective – Women, Leisure and Technology
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- Key takeaway
- Gaming faces stiff competition from other in-home entertainment
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- Figure 15: In-home leisure activities ranked – Any rank, all vs female, August 2019
- Comfort and connection make familiar games essential
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- Figure 16: Leisure time preferences, all vs female, August 2019
- Less free time could limit gaming
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- Figure 17: Attitudes toward free time, all vs female, August 2019
- Digital distrust discourages online socialization…
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- Figure 18: Online socializing behaviors, all vs female, August 2019
- …and online information exchanges
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- Figure 19: Attitudes toward exchanging digital information, all vs female, August 2019
Market Factors
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- Women have played video games more due to COVID-19
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- Figure 20: How much women are gaming since COVID-19 outbreak, May 2020
- Long lives lead female population to skew older
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- Figure 21: Female and male population 18 or older, by age, 2019
- Gender pay gap reduces female spending power
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- Figure 22: Median earnings of full-time, year-round workers, by gender, in inflation-adjusted dollars, 2000-2017
- Delayed life events challenge household gaming dynamics
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- Figure 23: Median age at first marriage, by gender, 1980-2018
Key Trends – What You Need to Know
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- Partner with women’s brands
- Work to end harassment and inequality
- Bring women in to the gaming world
What’s Helping
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- Women’s health and gaming work together
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- Figure 24: @bigfishgames NBCF Twitter post, September 2019
- Beauty brands can elevate female gamers
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- Figure 25: @girlgamer Esports Festival post, February 2020
- Collective strength brings issues to light
What’s Hurting
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- The barrier to belonging in the gaming world
- Within esports: a lack of gender inclusion
- Within gameplay: a need to curb toxicity
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- Figure 26: @evergreenily Valorant Twitter post, April 2020
- Within streaming: a flood of sexual harassment allegations
- Stereotypes damage efforts for greater inclusion
What to Watch
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- Safe spaces and female-only leagues break down barriers
- Fantasy games emphasize story over violence
- Women will make more games
- Encouraging the next generation to pursue gaming careers
- Intersectionality is the next step beyond gender
- Partner with other pop culture to introduce new audiences
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- Figure 27: @insecuregame post, April 2020
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Mobile gaming closes the gender gap
- New female gamers want games that fit their interests
- Women of different ages play different games
- Genre, story matter the most to women
- Few women gravitate toward gaming content
- A male focus discourages women
- Women need to see themselves as gamers
Devices Women Use to Play Games
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- Key opportunity
- Gender gap nonexistent across most gaming devices
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- Figure 28: Devices used to play video games, all vs female, May 2020
- One third of female gamers only play on mobile devices
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- Figure 29: Devices played exclusively, all vs female, May 2020
- Perceptions of gaming devices impact where women spend time playing
- Xbox and PlayStation: toxic and primarily for men
- Nintendo: fun for the whole family
- Computers and mobile devices: accessible and fun
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- Figure 30: Correspondence Analysis – Female gamers’ perceptions of gaming devices, May 2020
How Female Players are Introduced to Gaming
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- Key opportunity
- Women are more likely to be new to gaming
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- Figure 31: When players were introduced to gaming, all vs female, May 2020
- Social connections and nostalgia motivate women to try playing
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- Figure 32: What introduced female players to gaming, May 2020
- Gaining new female players means investing in different types of games
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- Figure 33: What would convince non-players to start playing video games, May 2020
What Genres Women Play
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- Key opportunity
- Female gaming interests are more focused to a few genres
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- Figure 34: Number of gaming genres played, by gender, May 2020
- Women more likely to play casual games…
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- Figure 35: Gaming genres played, all vs female, May 2020
- …but women of different ages play different types of games
- Older women will play levels-based games
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- Figure 36: Gaming genres played by women – Casual, by age, May 2020
- Young women gravitate toward action
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- Figure 37: Gaming genres played by women – Action, by age, May 2020
- Key opportunity: story-based games work across middle-aged and young women
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- Figure 38: Gaming genres played – Story games, by age, May 2020
Important Video Game Features
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- Key opportunity
- Genre and story matter more than gameplay
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- Figure 39: Important video game features, all vs female, May 2020
- Young women seek compelling stories and characters
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- Figure 40: Important video game features for women, by age, May 2020
- In their words: women want games that represent them
- TURF analysis: reputation and story increase reach substantially
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- Figure 41: TURF Analysis – Important game features, May 2020
How Women Watch Gaming Content
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- Key opportunity
- Gaming content faces tough competition from other entertainment
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- Figure 42: Video content watched, all vs female, May 2020
- Women are less likely to see a future for themselves in professional gaming
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- Figure 43: Attitudes toward esports, all vs female, May 2020
- Players and games can be promoted to gain engagement
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- Figure 44: Why women watch gaming content, May 2020
- Gameplay and game viewing can integrate to get new viewers
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- Figure 45: Why women don’t watch gaming content, May 2020
Female Representation in Gaming
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- Key opportunity
- Nearly half of gamers say gaming should be more inclusive
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- Figure 46: Attitudes toward female representation and safe spaces, all vs female, May 2020
- Male focus could be discouraging women
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- Figure 47: Attitudes toward male influence on gaming, all vs female, May 2020
Attitudes toward Gaming
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- Key opportunity
- One third of women are more dedicated players than last year
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- Figure 48: Attitudes toward gaming dedication, May 2020
- In their words: women’s perceptions of a gamer
- Toxic online gaming environment discourages female social gaming
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- Figure 49: Attitudes toward online gameplay, May 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – Trend Drivers
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- Figure 50: Mintel Trend Drivers and Pillars
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Appendix – TURF Analysis
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- Methodology
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- Figure 51: TURF Analysis – Important game features, May 2020
Appendix – Correspondence Analysis
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- Methodology
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- Figure 52: Female gamers’ perceptions of gaming devices, May 2020
Appendix – The Consumer
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- Figure 53: Devices used to play video games, by female vs all, October 2018-December 2019
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- Figure 54: Attitudes toward gaming, by female vs all, October 2018-December 2019
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