Types of Gamers in Gaming Today: A Profile of the Average Player

If you ask a random person on the street to describe a gamer, they’ll probably mention something about a single unemployed teenager with no social life.

The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Gaming is such a large industry that it offers something for everyone.

In turn, this means the types of gamers playing today are a lot different to what they were 20 years ago. To explain what we mean, here’s a look at the different types of gamers and their common attributes.

1. MMOs Are a Man’s World but Gaming is Gender Neutral

While most MMO players are male, there is still a significant number of female players who we can’t just ignore.

Based on relatively recent information, only 60% of players are male. A few years prior to that, around 85% of them were males, so the number of females in MMOs is growing.

This may be due to a general increase in women in gaming, not just affecting types of MMO gamers (such as women being casual gamers, hardcore gamers or gaymers).

Women Gamers on the Rise

According to the 2020 IFSE European Video Games Industry report, 45% of gamers in Europe were female. More significantly, 51% of all European mobile gamers are women.

And, just to prove that gaming isn’t bad for the brain, women gamers are 3X more likely to study for a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or math) degree than non-gamers.

2. Age is Not Just a Number: Different Ages for Different Types of Gamers

It doesn’t matter what types of MMO gamers you look at, they’re probably going to be 26 years old, or very close to that age.

This dispels the myth that all gamers are teens. In fact, only about 25% of all MMO gamers can be considered teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17.

A Surprising Average Age for Gamers

More strikingly, the average age of gamers across the board (not just MMOs) is 33, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

What’s interesting to note here is that, on average, female players are older than their male counterparts.

The ESA’s 2019 report shows that the average male gamer is 32. The average female gamer is 34. Moreover, 27% of all female MMO players are over the age of 35, compared to just 13% of males.

3. The Types of Gamers You Know (Probably) Aren’t Lonely Souls

The major misconception about the types of gamers out there is that they’re all single young men. In some ways, this is true.

36% of MMO players, for example, are either married or engaged to be married. Moreover, that 36% does not include players who are currently in a relationship. It’s likely that at least 50% of gamers are in some type of relationship.

Gamers Are the Opposite of the Lonely Type

Another fact that supports the idea of gamers being sociable comes from a 2008 survey by IGN Entertainment and Ipsos Media CT.

That study showed that gamers are twice as likely to go on dates than non-gamers. So, when you look at the different types of gamers online, don’t be surprised if they’re more sociable than other people.

4. Gamers Aren’t Lazy, Unemployed, or Unmotivated

Many serious MMO players hold down a job so they can keep playing competitively. Over 50% of players work a full-time job, and another 12% work part-time or are part-time students.

22% are full time students, 3% are home-makers, 1% are retired, and only 11% are unemployed. There’s no significant difference between males and females when it comes to being employed or not.

So, we can say that most types of MMO gamers are active, employed, and motivated.

5. The Types of Gamers You Know Are Dedicated to their Craft

The average video gamer spends eight hours and 27 minutes playing games each week, according to research by Limelight Networks.

A study of 4,000 people across eight countries found that, in 2020, gamers spent 14% more time gaming than they did in 2019.

Delving further into the stats, 44% of those surveyed played more than seven hours a week, and 25% were locked in for more than 12 hours.

MMO Gamers are a Hardcore Type of Gamers

If we delve even deeper, of all the gamers out there, MMO fans are the most hardcore. On average, MMO gamers spend 21 hours a week in their virtual worlds.

For comparison, the average American spends 28 hours watching TV each week. So, while it might seem like gamers are glued to their screens for endless hours, it’s actually not as bad as people assume.

In reality, different types of gamers spend differing amounts of time dedicated to their craft.

There Are Many Different Types of Gamers

After reviewing the facts, you can see that the random person on the street doesn’t really know what they are talking about.

The truth is there are no “typical” types of gamers. The gaming community is as diverse as they come and there are as many types of gamers as there are games.

However, regardless of where a player comes from, we all have one thing in common: we love gaming.