Online gaming spikes during pandemic as APAC gamers seek social connection, entertainment | WARC | The Feed

18 March 2021

Online gaming spikes during pandemic as APAC gamers seek social connection, entertainment

APAC gamers spend more than 10 hours each week playing, and more than seven in 10 made new friends through online gaming, according to Limelight Networks’ State of Online Gaming 2021, which found that online gaming’s popularity surged as the pandemic drove people to stay connected and entertained while stuck at home.

The report on the latest gaming preferences and habits in APAC and globally looked at how long consumers are playing video games, what are they playing, and how is playing video games impacting their overall life.

Why it matters

Opportunities for interactivity and social engagement are likely to continue driving further video game adoption. It is already the top entertainment choice for many as two-thirds (67%) of gamers, who prefer to play video games versus watching a movie or TV show.

Five findings 

• More than seven in 10 APAC gamers (72%) say they made new friends through online games in the past year.
• More than one in three (36%) say the ability to interact with other players is extremely important.
• The average APAC gamer played video games consecutively for four hours and 49 minutes, and young gamers aged 18-25 have binge-gamed for the longest, at an average of nearly five hours.
• Video games have become a spectator sport, with 72% of APAC gamers saying they started to watch others play in the past year.
• The average gamer spends three hours and 36 minutes each week watching others play video games online, with gamers in India spending the most time (five hours and 18 minutes).

Sourced from Limelight Networks