New survey data from Payless Power highlights a shift in how players interact with their gaming systems day-to-day, pointing to broader implications for the industry’s next phase of growth.
Gaming is evolving from a session-based activity into an always-on platform. But as gaming increasingly behaves like a persistent service layered into daily life, what does that mean for infrastructure demands, monetization models, and the real cost of engagement?
From daily quests to weekend marathons, gaming is part of everyday life for millions of Americans. But as playtime adds up, so can the electric bill. To understand how gaming habits connect to household energy use, Payless Power surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults who play video games about their weekly playtime, platform preferences, and electricity costs.
The key findings of the study were:
- 54% of U.S. gamers are playing video games every single day
- 61% of gamers are saying they sometimes leave their setup running while asleep or away to download updates
- 62% of gamers are using their console or PC to stream content like Netflix or YouTube when they are not gaming
- Gaming setups are remaining idle for an average of 8.1 hours per day
- The average U.S. gamer household is spending $150 per month on electricity
“The days of gaming being a hobby that people turn on and off are dwindling. Now, gaming is becoming more like a household utility. The console itself is evolving into part entertainment platform, part media center, part always-on service, as 54% of U.S. gamers are playing every day and 62% are using consoles or PCs as streaming hubs. Gaming can now be measured in the total footprint it occupies inside the home,” said Brandon Young, CEO at Payless Power, in a press release.
“For the industry, this points to a future where energy efficiency is presented as a competitive feature. We talk a lot about load times and frame rates, but a new headache for gamers may be how expensive it is to keep a gaming ecosystem running in the background. There is an opportunity for console makers and PC manufacturers to build smarter update scheduling and lower-power standby modes, given the average setup is sitting idle for 8.1 hours a day.”
The survey was fielded on February 18–19, 2026. By generation, respondents include millennials (55%), Gen Z (27%), Gen X (16%), and baby boomers (1%). All electricity bill figures are self-reported household averages and do not represent gaming-only costs. For numeric input questions, outliers were removed using the interquartile range (IQR) method before calculating averages. Game and platform subgroup findings are based on a minimum sample size of 50 respondents.
“Rising electricity costs are already intersecting with the cost-of-living squeeze. This is especially true for younger players and families who are priced out by $70 games and never-ending hardware cycles. One risk is that people become even more selective about what they play and what subscriptions they keep. When a household is spending around $150 a month on electricity, and gaming hardware is part of that daily load, the industry has to recognize that engagement now has a cost attached to it,” continued Young in the same press release.
As consoles and gaming PCs only become more powerful, consuming even more electricity, costs could continue to increase.