Gaming has been a growing area of media for years; during the beginning of the pandemic we observed significant growth in the space as more gamers had time at home, and this past year was yet another big year for games and related content. Gamers continue to spend more time, play more games, and watch more livestreaming than ever before.
With emerging opportunities like in-game advertising becoming commonplace, now is the time to look at this fast-moving sector which touches three quarters of all households in the United States.
Millions of Americans play video games, whether that is on PC, console, or mobile device, and Comscore data show approximately 229M monthly unique visitors to gaming sites and mobile apps as of December 2022 – a 7% growth versus December 2019. While that single-digit growth may seem low on the surface, it’s important to note that even mild growth in this area represents millions of additional users accessing this gaming content. Not only are gamers consuming more content, but the devices they play on have continued to expand. Comscore’s most recent State of Gaming survey found that 74% of gamers play regularly on multiple platforms, and 38% of gamers play on all three (PC, console, and mobile). Gamers do not exist in a silo by platform, but are rather part of one giant interconnected ecosystem.
A big part of that ecosystem has become gaming advertising. While not a new concept, it is an area that has continued to see consistent innovation. For years games have featured in-game advertisements, sponsored events for esports, and other collaborations, but marketers and publishers continue to look for additional ways to monetize this incredibly interactive entertainment medium. Formats such as rewarded advertisements, where users can choose when to receive an ad and are instantly compensated with some sort of in-game payment, have grown and given gamers the flexibility to decide when and how (or if) they get an advertisement in their game, which is something truly unique to gaming.
The good news for marketers is that only about 1 in 3 gamers report advertisements as negatively impacting their game experience across platforms. Likely due to the ubiquity of advertising on mobile, those who primarily play games on a smartphone or tablet were the most open to advertisements with only 26% reporting a negative impact of advertisements. These data should give confidence to advertisers looking to utilize this channel to reach gaming audiences.
What leads to these trends, and how should advertisers be using these data to their advantage? Get the answers to these questions and more on March 15th, 2023 as Ian Essling, Senior Director of Survey Insights, Comscore presents our 2023 “State of Gaming” webinar! Sign up at the link below.
2023 State of Gaming