Older players are a large audience the industry overlooks
The picture of a gamer as a teenage boy has long been wrong. Players aged 50 and over have been about a quarter of the American audience since 2006. They mostly play alone on a phone, and say games are not made for them.
Latest figure · 2026
29%
The share of US game players aged 50 or over, as printed in the ESA's 2026 edition of Essential Facts: 29%.
Where it stands
The ESA's 2026 survey puts the average US player at 37, and finds half of Boomers play weekly, women more than men. The ESA calls that a rise, but it printed the same 37 in 2011, its 29% share of players aged 50 and over is also what it printed in 2011, and its figures jumped in 2024 when it changed how it runs the survey. AARP's research counts 52.4 million American players over 50, most playing alone on a phone and feeling games are not made for them. In Germany the number of players over 60 rose from 6.4 million to 7.7 million in a year, on the trade body's count.
Players aged 50 and over have been about a quarter of the American audience since 2006: 25% then, 29% in 2011 and 29% in 2026. They did not arrive recently. The years marked n/a are editions that used other age bands.
SourceESA Essential Facts
| Year | Share of US game players aged 50 or over, by edition of the ESA's yearly survey |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 17% |
| 2005 | 19% |
| 2006 | 25% |
| 2007 | 24% |
| 2008 | 26% |
| 2009 | 26% |
| 2010 | 26% |
| 2011 | 29% |
| 2012 | n/a |
| 2013 | n/a |
| 2014 | n/a |
| 2015 | 27% |
| 2016 | 26% |
| 2017 | n/a |
| 2018 | n/a |
| 2019 | n/a |
| 2020 | n/a |
| 2021 | n/a |
| 2022 | n/a |
| 2023 | n/a |
| 2024 | 29% |
| 2025 | 28% |
| 2026 | 29% |
Timeline
1999
One US player in eleven is over 50
The ESA, the US games industry's trade body, later reports that in 1999 only 9% of American players were aged 50 or older.
2006
A quarter of US players are over 50
The ESA's yearly survey finds 25% of American players are 50 or older, and puts the average player's age at 33. The over-50 share has stayed between 24% and 29% in every edition that has printed it since.
2011
The ESA puts the average player at 37, the same as in 2026
The 2011 edition prints an average age of 37 and a 29% share of players over 50. Both are identical to the figures the ESA presented in 2026 as a rise.
2015
Half of American adults play, and one in ten calls themselves a gamer
Pew Research Center finds that 49% of US adults ever play video games, men and women almost equally. Only 10% describe themselves as gamers.
2019
50 million Americans over 50 play at least monthly
AARP, the American association for older people, counts 50.6 million players aged 50 and over, up from 40.2 million in 2016. 49% of women over 50 play, against 40% of men.
2022
Older players mostly play alone, on a phone
AARP's next survey counts 52.4 million players over 50, which is 45% of Americans that age. They play 12 hours a week. 81% play alone, 84% play on a smartphone, and their favorite games are puzzles and card games. 69% say games are not designed with them in mind.
2024
The ESA changes how it counts, and the average age jumps four years
The ESA moves its survey to a new firm and, for the first time, counts children aged 5 to 17. The average age it prints goes from 32 to 36 and the number of players falls from 212.6 million to 190.6 million. The ESA publishes nothing to connect the old figures with the new.
In the UK a quarter of over-65s play, against 85% of 16 to 24 year olds
Ofcom, the British media regulator, finds 53% of UK adults play games, down from a lockdown peak of 60% in 2020. 85% of those aged 16 to 24 play, and 25% of those 65 and over.
Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes Report 2025 (7 May 2025)
Germany counts 7.7 million players over 60
The German games trade body puts the average player's age at 39.5, its highest yet, and the number of players over 60 at 7.7 million, up from 6.4 million a year earlier.
2025
Brazil's older internet users play more, and its children less
In Brazil's official household internet survey, 38% of internet users aged 10 and over played online in 2025, the same share as in 2023. Among those aged 60 and over the share rose from 9% to 15%, and among those aged 10 to 15 it fell from 89% to 80%.
Cetic.br, TIC Domicílios 2025, table C7 (read 30 September 2026)
2026
Half of American Boomers play every week
The ESA's 2026 survey finds 212.3 million Americans play each week, with an average age of 37. 50% of Boomers, aged 62 to 80, play weekly, and 32% of those aged 81 to 90. Among Boomers, 52% of women play against 47% of men. 75% of parents play, and 81% of those play with their children.
Researchers argue that older players are the audience the industry is missing
Northeastern University launches Games for Life, an initiative on games for older people. 'We've never been thinking about them as our core user base,' says Bob De Schutter, who leads it.
Consequences
012026
Older players still buy the kind of game the industry struggles to sell
Bob De Schutter argues that while younger players spend less, on fewer free games, older players are an untapped audience who still pay full price for single-player games. His colleague Leanne Chukoskie adds that games built around fast reflexes carry a built-in bias toward the young.
022022
A large group of paying customers feels ignored
AARP's Brittne Kakulla finds players over 50 spending an average of $49 every six months. Most of them say games are not made with them in mind and that they never see people like themselves in games. AARP expects 100 million American players over 50 by 2045.
032026
The industry uses the figures to argue with lawmakers
Stanley Pierre-Louis, who runs the ESA, says the audience now mirrors in large part the demographics of the nation. The ESA pairs that with its finding that most parents play alongside their children, to argue that games deserve more trust from lawmakers than social media.
042024
The stereotype is years behind the numbers
Felix Falk, who runs the German trade body, points out that only one in five German players is under 18. The fastest growth is among the over-60s, some of them players since the 1980s and some who started late.
Objections
Counterpoint2011
The ESA's own back catalog shows no steady rise
The ESA describes the average age as rising to 37. It printed 37 in 2011, then 30 the year after, with no explanation. The jump from 32 to 36 came in the year it changed survey firm and started counting children, which should have pulled an average down. The series moves with the survey as much as with the players.
Counterpoint2024
At the top of the age range, players are still a minority
Ofcom's UK figures show how thin the span is: 25% of over-65s play, and 3% of them use a console. The share of all UK adults who play fell from 60% in 2020 to 53% in 2024. Ofcom's 2026 report gives 65%, with a warning that its method has changed.
Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes Report 2025 (7 May 2025)
Counterpoint2022
Older players are not playing with their families
The idea of households playing together does not fit AARP's data. 81% of players over 50 play alone, and only 20% name children or grandchildren as the people they play with. Nobody publishes how many households have two or more generations playing together.
What to watch
2027
The ESA's next edition
Late May or early June 2027, when the ESA usually publishes. It will be the fourth edition on the new method, and the first chance to see whether 36, 36, 37 is a trend.
2027
Ofcom's next count of older players
Spring 2027, when Ofcom usually publishes. It will be the first report that can be compared with the new-method figure of 65% of UK adults playing.
Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes Report 2025 (7 May 2025)
Further reading
- Data2026 Essential Facts About the U.S. Video Game Industrytheesa.com
- AnalysisThe Myth of the Aging Playerbaseyoutube.com
- AnalysisWhy older gamers could be the key to saving the games industrynews.northeastern.edu
Where to follow it ESA Essential Facts (annual), Circana demographics, VGM/GWI audience panels, Pew Research internet & tech
- Old games take most of players' time
- Campaigners are pressing to keep sold games playable
- Players are using review scores as a protest vote
- Regulators are age-gating loot boxes
- Governments are weighing legal caps on children's playtime
- Children's privacy rules are nudging games toward checking every player's age
- Problem-gaming research is shifting from hours to compulsion
- China is using game approvals as a policy dial