Coronavirus pandemic and the habits connected with gaming frequency

The current Polish Gamers Research has been conducted in May 2020, during the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The survey was expanded by questions concerning the impact of the pandemic and social isolation on gaming habits and amounts spent in games and on games.

It is not surprising that the forced stay at home increased the interest in gaming as a form of passing time, both among adults and children. 31% of the adult respondents declared that they played more frequently because of the pandemic. Only 10% stated that they played less frequently than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chart 1 Base: Respondents who play games, N=1036
Has the pandemic situation affected your playing habits?

Chart 2 Base: Parents of children up to the age of 18 who play computer games, N=425
Has the pandemic situation affected your child’s playing habits?

According to declarations of parents, 39% of children played more frequently during the pandemic and only 9% played less frequently than before the lockdown. The trends on the Polish market are similar to those observed in other countries. In accordance with the data from the Video Game Tracking (VGT) tool delivered by an American research company, Nielsen, in order to analyse the consumer behaviours among the gamers, the number of gamers who admitted playing more frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic increased from March 23rd 2020. The highest increase has been observed in the United States (46%), France (41%), United Kingdom (28%) and Germany (23%).