NPD: 28% of U.S. population ages 13 to 54 purchase extra video game content

Market research firm The NPD Group has released a new report on gamers’ spending habits on downloadable content. According to The NPD Group, 28 percent of the U.S. population of men and women ages 13 to 54 have purchased extra video game content in the past three months, with males and teens making up the bulk of the group. The NPD Group clarified to GamesBeat that its research targeted console and PC games, so these figures do not take mobile into account.

Microtransactions and downloadable content are a standard today, both in free-to-play and premium games. They give publishers a way earn money from a game long after its initial release. These items can be small, like cosmetics that change your character’s appearance but don’t affect gameplay, or include new content that rivals the size of full games.