The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has revealed its 2026 Essential Facts About the US Video Game Industry report, which shares statistics on how prevalent gaming is to American players. And, spoiler alert, gaming is pretty popular in the States.
According to ESA’s report, 67% of Americans (ages 5 to 9) play games at least one hour every week. This includes 212.3 million Americans, which is 3% higher (or 7.2 million) compared to the 2025 report.
These 212.3 million Americans bring generations together, as people of all ages game. The 2026 Essential Facts About the US Video Game Industry report breaks down the percentage of each generation:
- Gen Alpha (ages 5 to 13): 80%
- Gen Z (ages 14 to 29): 80%
- Millennials (ages 30 to 45): 71%
- Gen X (ages 45 to 61): 56%
- Boomers (ages 62 to 80): 50%
- Silent Generation (ages 81 to 90): 32%
The gender of players is also split mostly equally between men and women — 53% men and 46% women. For most generations, slightly more men play compared to women, with the exception of Boomers.
These statistics bring to light just how popular mobile gaming is — 80% of gamers use their phones to play games, with PC and consoles being more popular with the youngest three generations.
Puzzle games are actually the most commonly played genre on both mobile (66%) and PC (60%), though console users play mostly action (66%), shooters (60%), and arcade games (60%).
Additionally, gaming has become another way for parents to connect with their kids. 75% of American parents play video games each week, with 81% of them playing with their children.
49% of parents whose children play games think that playing games teaches skills, like creative thinking and problem solving. Parents are also being internet-safe, with 66% of parents using parental controls (and 70% of parents to children who are 12 and younger).
Additionally, adult Americans who play video games are more likely to have a full-time job and have children (39% and 35% compared to 34% and 30%, respectively).
With all of this said, it’s no wonder that Americans feel positive about video games. 63% of players think that video games offer the most entertainment value for money spent. They’re also spending more, with an average spending of $20 per month among the youngest three generations.
The numbers in the 2026 Essential Facts About the US Video Game Industry report come from a partnership between the ESA and YouGov. The full report includes even more information, which players can check out here.
Additionally, the ESA created and published an animation for the report, which can be seen below:
For more news on the gaming industry, check out our recap of everything revealed at the June 2026 PlayStation State of Play and the PlayStation Plus price hike that’s now effective.
