Young people are keeping their friendships going inside games
For many young players a game is where friends meet, not only something they play. Platforms now build around chat with friends, and every rule about who may talk to whom reaches those friendships too, along with the strangers and the harassment.
How do young people play together?
Pew Research Center finds that 89% of US teens who play video games play them with other people, in person or online, and 72% say one reason they play is to spend time with others. Only 11% play only on their own.
Latest figure · 2026
37%
The share of US adult players who say they have met a good friend, spouse or significant other through video games, as printed in the ESA's 2026 edition of Essential Facts: 37%.
Where it stands
Games have been a place to meet and keep friends since Xbox Live shipped with a headset in 2002, and in 2020 they hosted concerts and graduations. In 2026 the ESA finds that 62% of US players who play with others play online with friends they know in person, and that 90% of Gen Z players who talk online use in-game chat. In the UK, Ofcom finds 55% of children who game online play with people they have never met.
The share rose to 50% in 2023, then reset to 39% when the ESA changed its survey method in 2024, and has edged down since.
SourceESA Essential Facts
| Year | Share of US adult players who say they have met a good friend, spouse or partner through games, by edition of the ESA's yearly survey |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 |
| 2022 | 46 |
| 2023 | 50 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 39 |
| 2026 | 37 |
Timeline
1999
Fewer than one US player in five plays online
The ESA, the US games industry's trade body, says only 18% of American players reported playing online in 1999. By its 2024 survey nearly 90% play in some form online.
2002
Microsoft puts a headset in the box with Xbox Live
Microsoft launches Xbox Live with a $49.95 starter kit that includes a Communicator headset, so players can talk while they play. It says more than 200,000 players found their friends online in the first week.
2007
Three in four online role-players make good friends in the game
A survey of 912 players of online role-playing games in 45 countries finds that 76.2% of men and 74.7% of women made good friends in the game, seven on average.
Helena Cole and Mark D. Griffiths, CyberPsychology and Behavior (2007)
2015
Teen boys make friends through games, girls through social media
Pew Research Center finds that among US teen boys who have made friends online, 57% did so by playing video games online, against 13% of girls.
2020
12.3 million players attend a concert inside Fortnite
Travis Scott's concert inside Fortnite, about ten minutes long, draws 12.3 million players at once, a record for the game.
Berkeley students hold their graduation in Minecraft
After the pandemic cancels commencement, more than 100 UC Berkeley students build their campus in Minecraft as Blockeley University and hold a virtual ceremony there.
Discord stops calling itself a gaming app
Discord, built for gamers, rebrands around the line 'Your place to talk', saying users had told it the app was for 'anyone who likes to talk.'
2022
Four in ten hours of play are spent with other people
The ESA finds that 41% of US players' time in games is spent playing with others, 25% online and 16% in person, and that 43% play with friends they know only online, up from 23% a year earlier.
2024
Almost half of teen players make a friend through a game
Pew Research Center finds that 47% of US teens who play video games have made a friend online because of a game they both play, 40% of all teens.
Pew Research Center, Jeffrey Gottfried and Olivia Sidoti (9 May 2024)
2025
Discord goes back to games
Discord appoints Humam Sakhnini, a former Activision Blizzard executive, as chief executive. It says its more than 200 million monthly users spend 2 billion hours a month playing games, and that it refocused on its gaming roots in 2024.
2026
Most social play is with friends people already know
The ESA's 2026 survey finds 70% of US players aged 8 and over have played with others, and 62% of those play online with friends they know in person. Among players who talk to others online, 90% of Gen Z use in-game communication tools, against 35% of Boomers.
Roblox rebuilds around chat with friends
Roblox ships Global Chat in May 2026 and says it reached an average of 30 million messages a day in June. In the third quarter it brings friends' messages into the chat window inside each game.
Roblox, second-quarter 2026 shareholder letter (30 July 2026)
Games overtake social media as Gen Z's main community
YPulse's 2026 survey of young people in the US and Canada finds video games have overtaken social media as their top source of community, though in-person connection still feels strongest.
Consequences
012025
The chat app goes back to games for its money
Discord says it has refocused on its gaming roots, and TechCrunch reports it is exploring advertising and micro-transactions. TechCrunch reads its choice of a games executive as chief as a sign it sees its future in gaming more than in social networking.
022026
For Roblox, chat is the business
Roblox tells investors that engagement with its communication features is fundamental to user engagement, retention and how games spread. It is moving friends' chat into the game window so users need not leave a game to coordinate with friends.
Roblox, first-quarter 2026 shareholder letter (30 April 2026)
032026
Games introduce people who would not otherwise meet
47% of US adult players say they have met people through video games they otherwise would not have met, and 49% say games help them stay connected to friends and family, the ESA finds.
Objections
Counterpoint2024
Four in ten teen players are called offensive names
80% of US teens think harassment over video games is a problem for people their age, and 41% of teens who play say they have been called an offensive name while playing, Pew Research Center finds.
Pew Research Center, Jeffrey Gottfried and Olivia Sidoti (9 May 2024)
Counterpoint2026
Half of UK child gamers play with strangers
Ofcom finds that 55% of UK children who game online play at least sometimes with people they have never met in real life, and 20% do so all or most of the time. Ofcom's own pages answer automated readers with a check, so this is LBC's relay of its figures.
Counterpoint2026
Fewer US players play with others each year since 2024
On the ESA's current survey method, the share of US players aged 8 and over who have played with others fell from 74% in 2024 to 72% in 2025 and 70% in 2026. The share who play with others at least weekly fell from 55% to 46% in 2026.
What to watch
2026
Whether Roblox's friends chat brings the talk back
Roblox's third-quarter results, when it usually reports in late October or early November, the first to cover chat with friends inside each game. A figure for messages against June's 30 million a day would show whether it has.
Roblox, second-quarter 2026 shareholder letter (30 July 2026)
2027
The ESA's 2027 survey
Late May or early June 2027, when the ESA usually publishes Essential Facts. Whether the share of US players who play with others falls below 70% for the first time on its current method.
2027
YPulse's next friendship and community report
August 2027, when YPulse usually publishes its Friendship and Community Report, as it did on 5 August 2026. Whether games still lead social media as young people's source of community.
Further reading
- ResearchTeens and Video Games Todaypewresearch.org
- ResearchVideo Games Are Key Elements in Friendships for Many Boyspewresearch.org
- ResearchHate is No Game: Hate and Harassment in Online Games 2023adl.org
Where to follow it ESA Essential Facts, Pew Research Center, Ofcom, YPulse, Roblox's shareholder letters
- Old games take most of players' time
- Older players are a large audience the industry overlooks
- 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