Video games aren’t just for kids anymore. In recent years, games on dedicated consoles, mobile devices and even virtual reality headsets have made dramatic inroads into the 50-plus community, and this rapid growth is expected to continue for decades. These new gamers have discovered that gaming offers entertainment, an opportunity for social connections, and even a chance to evolve their own identity.
Responding to this dynamic trend, gaming developers have developed new business models to reach this dynamic market — and in the process have helped lay the foundation for the metaverse.
Jim Barnett at AARP’s Futurecasting Innovation Zone has compiled a Gaming Fact Sheet about the future of gaming. Here are some highlights:
- Gaming is quickly becoming a place in which participants can congregate, interact or attend events
- Nearly 51 million older gamers play an average of five hours per week, compared to 40 million active users three years ago
- Today’s audience of roughly 50 million gamers who are 50-plus is expected to grow to 60 million by 2025 and to more than 100 million by 2045
- Global revenues from gaming in 2020 totaled nearly $175 billion
- 22% of people who bought their first virtual reality headset did so during the virus outbreak
You can check out the entire fact sheet in our AgeTech Resources library.
AARP’s Futurecasting team looks beyond the walls of AARP to identify external forces and trends most likely to impact AARP and its members. Through analysis, storytelling and consultation, the team helps the enterprise anticipate challenges and prepare future operations.