Video Game Spending Statistics: How Much Does the Average Family Spend on Gaming?

The average U.S. household spent $55 on video games in 2024, down 20% from $69 in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That decline came even as total U.S. spending on video games climbed to $60.7 billion in 2025, the second-highest total on record, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and Circana.

This piece breaks down what households spend on video games by income, family type, and age, and how that compares with the broader industry's revenue and its best-selling titles. The household spending figures come from a Motley Fool Money analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, covering spending on video game software, hardware and accessories, and online gaming services.

Read together, the numbers reveal a gap between household spending and overall spending on video games that opened up in the most recent year of data.

How much consumers spend on video games

Total U.S. consumer spending on video games reached $60.7 billion in 2025, according to the ESA and Circana, the second-highest total on record behind 2021's $61.7 billion. Content, including full games, downloadable content, and subscriptions, accounted for $52.3 billion of that total. Hardware sales added $5.4 billion, and accessories brought in $2.95 billion.

At the household level, the picture is different. Households spent a combined $55 on video games in 2024, including $16 on software, $28 on hardware and accessories, and $11 on online gaming services such as subscriptions and online play fees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is down from $69 in 2023, a 20% decline.

More than 212 million Americans, or 67% of the population, play video games regularly, according to the ESA. The average player is 37 years old.

Video game spending by income

Higher-income households spend more on video games, but the gap between the top and bottom of the income scale narrowed slightly in 2024.

The highest-earning fifth of households spent roughly three times as much on video games as the lowest-earning fifth in 2024. The highest earners spent closer to four times as much as the lowest earners in 2023, meaning the wealthiest households cut their video game spending more sharply than everyone else over the past year.

Video game spending by family structure

Families with school-age children spend the most on video games of any household type.

Married couples with a child between 6 and 17 spent more on video games than any other household type in both years, likely reflecting the age range in which kids most actively play and request new games and consoles. Households with a child younger than 6 were the only group whose spending held roughly flat between 2023 and 2024.

Single-parent households with a child under 18 showed the steepest percentage decline of any group, down 46% from 2023 to 2024. That group is a smaller slice of the survey sample than the others in this table, so the size of the year-over-year swing should be read as directional rather than precise.

Video game spending by age

Video game spending doesn't decline steadily with age. It peaks twice, once among the youngest adult households and again among households headed by someone in their late 30s or early 40s, with a dip in between.

The two peaks may align with how often each generation plays, though the two data sources use different age brackets and measure different outcomes.

More than 80% of Gen Z say they play video games at least an hour a week, the highest rate of any generation, compared with 71% of millennials and 56% of Gen X, according to the ESA. Video game spending from younger households may keep pace with older households despite lower incomes because they play more often, while the 35-to-44 group combines strong engagement with the disposable income of peak-earning years. Spending falls off sharply after that. The 45-to-54 group's spending dropped 43% from 2023 to 2024, the steepest decline of any age bracket, and continues falling through the 55-and-older brackets.

Video game spending by year

Household spending and total U.S. market spending moved together through most of the pandemic, but they diverged sharply from 2023 to 2024.

At the household level, combined spending on video game software, hardware and accessories, and online gaming services swung considerably from year to year: $61 in 2018, $49 in 2019, a pandemic-era peak of $78 in 2020, down to $59 in 2021, then $65 in 2022 and $69 in 2023, before falling to $55 in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Total video game spending has followed a longer upward trajectory. U.S. video game spending grew from $11.7 billion in 2002 to $61.7 billion in 2021, the highest year on record, before largely leveling off. Spending rose modestly to $59.9 billion in 2024 and $60.7 billion in 2025, the second-highest year on record, according to the ESA.

Household spending fell while total market spending grew. That gap could mean more people are playing and spending a bit less individually, or that BLS and ESA are using different measures of video game spending. For example, ESA's total spending data includes mobile in-app purchases, a category BLS does not track as its own line item.

Video game revenue by segment

Big-budget console and PC releases get the most attention, but mobile gaming generates the most revenue. Mobile in-app purchases alone brought in more money globally in 2025 than PC, console, and cloud gaming combined, according to the Boston Consulting Group's Video Gaming Report 2026. These figures are global, not U.S.-only.

Much of that spending comes from people who wouldn't necessarily call themselves gamers: 55% of baby boomer players say mobile is their primary way to play, according to BCG. Cloud gaming remains the smallest category by revenue, but BCG projects it will grow faster than any other segment through 2030.

The best-selling video games and consoles

Battlefield 6 was the top-grossing PC and console game in the United States in 2025, according to the ESA. MONOPOLY GO! was the top-grossing mobile game.

Tetris remains the best-selling video game of all time, with 520 million copies sold across all versions since its 1984 release, according to IGN. Sony's PlayStation 2 remains the best-selling console ever made worldwide, with about 160 million units sold, according to Gamerant. The Nintendo Switch, with 155.92 million units sold, and the Nintendo DS, with 154.02 million units sold, are close behind globally, according to Nintendo's own sales data. In the U.S. specifically, the Switch overtook the PS2 as the best-selling console of all time in December 2024, according to Circana.

Credit and debit cards for gamers

Whether gaming is your own hobby or a go-to gift for your kids, it's likely that you'll be spending a decent chunk of change on hardware, games, in-game features, or accessories.

Despite gaming revenue surpassing that of movies and music, there are only a few credit and debit cards designed specifically for gamers. Those cards could be worth looking into if you're a consistent spender on gaming and have some loyalty to a particular console.

The best credit cards for gamers vary based on platform of choice and the type of purchases expected, such as spending on hardware, accessories, games, or in-game purchases. While Xbox and PlayStation offer their own rewards cards, they aren't as competitive in other respects as some of Motley Fool Money's top-rated credit cards.

Check out Motley Fool Money's full list of credit card reviews before making a decision on which card is right for you.