Gamers come in all demographics now.
Gamers come in all demographics now.
Categories

ESA: 66% of Americans play games and 88% of players say gaming relieves stress

A total of 66% of Americans, or 215.5 million people, play video games and attitudes toward games have gotten more positive during the pandemic, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).

The data comes from the video game trade group’s 2022 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry study, which says that 97% of all Americans now see the benefits of video games. The report says people believe that video games have brought mental health benefits during the pandemic.

Unlock premium content and VIP community perks with GB M A X! Join now to enjoy our free and premium perks. 

Join now →

Sign in to your account.

Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.