How do women gamers play and spend on video games?
Insights into women in gaming are increasingly relevant in today’s video game industry. Nearly half of game enthusiasts are women, and many women play video games, highlighting their significant presence in the global gaming community.
Understanding the experiences and preferences of women who play, develop, and lead games can enhance storytelling and design in games. It can also mitigate and reduce the sexualization of female protagonists and NPCs while accentuating the importance of creating more diversely resonant gaming experiences.
Knowing more about women in gaming also contributes to a more diverse and inclusive gaming culture. And that makes video games better for all players.
We explored consumer data surrounding gaming in the Global Gamer Study to understand more about women in gaming today.
High-level stats on women gamers
We examined the total online population surveyed for 2023’s Global Gamer Study to discover the state of women in gaming today:
It’s important to note that this data was released in May 2023, and players reflect those who have played games in a six-month period prior to being surveyed for the study.
Fewer women identify as gamers but are more likely to identify as casual gamers
For the most part, women and men have varying relationships with gaming in terms of how closely it ties into their identity and self-perception. As shown above, 36% of women players consider themselves gamers, while that figure jumps past 50% for male players. Also, 44% of male players are referred to as gamers by others, compared to 31% of female-identifying players. ?
Aside from gaming identities, diversity in games is also an important factor here (and one we measure). Both women and men players find diversity in games important, with 62% of women and 65% of men sharing this sentiment.
This highlights how crucial it is for game developers to create a wider array of characters and narratives that appeal to more players. More than likely, the more your players see themselves in a game’s characters and story, the more they’ll play the game and spend money on it. As pointed out in the previous section, 50% of women who play games also spend money on them.
Nearly half of women (44%) of women gamers play exclusively on mobile devices
When it comes to playing behavior, you can also look at how women and men approach different gaming platforms. Nearly half (44%) of women players play exclusively on mobile devices, compared to 27% of men. On the flip side, the latter cohort is 6% more likely to play on all three devices (PC, console, and mobile).
Going a bit further into gamer identification, 44% of women gamers consider themselves “casual gamers,” 16% more than the share for men. Conversely, 37% of men who play games view themselves as “core gamers.” Under a quarter of women who play games share this sentiment.
If you dig back into the data platform by platform, you see that over 38% of female console gamers also identify as “core gamers.” That share is slightly lower for PC players (just over 36%).
So, contrary to myths that are, thankfully, far less pervasive than they used to be, there are many women out there who not only play games but hold gaming near and dear to their identities. This underscores the importance of fostering more diversity and representation in the games industry and in games themselves.
Representation has improved in video games over the years
While there is still more to accomplish on this front, more women and non-binary characters and narratives have made it into video games, mirroring improvements in diversity and representation across the industry.
More games are featuring women in leading roles, including Ellie in The Last of Us (2013), Aloy in Horizon: Zero Dawn (2017), V in Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), Alyx Vance in Half-Life Alyx, and Saga Anderson in Alan Wake 2 (2023). The upcoming Star Wars: Outlaws will center around Kay Vess, and the highly anticipated sixth entry in the male-dominated GTA series will give a woman protagonist the chance to cause chaos.
On top of these titles, there has been an increasing trend in sports games to better represent female athletes. Games from the NBA 2K, NHL, and EA Sports FC franchises have introduced female leagues and clubs, with more cover art featuring female players. Sports Interactive also confirmed that women’s football/soccer will be added to Football Manager 2025.
As of last year, only 18% of female-identifying players play sports titles, whereas it’s the fourth most played genre among male gamers. The share of women playing sports titles rises a bit when you look at playing behaviors on certain or several devices, but including more women athletes in sports games may help increase this share.
Want to know more about women in gaming?
Efforts to support and empower women in gaming encompass a range of initiatives. These include promoting representation and visibility by encouraging more women to participate in gaming events, conferences, and panels. Mentorship and educational programs also play a crucial role, especially for (aspiring) women game professionals.
Some notable organizations working towards these goals include:
Do you want to learn how to harness research to reach and resonate with a more diverse audience? Let’s talk.
Strategic Marketing Consultant | Board Member, Advisor | Podcaster, Speaker | x Riot, Scopely, Disney, EA |
7 个月As a female game leader, I'm often asked about data supporting female-targeted games and female gamers. (Because a female leader can speak on behalf of all female gamers). It's great to see data from Minh Tue Le Ngoc and Newzoo showcasing that women are almost at parity with men in many of the key categories we use to evaluate the games industry. One key area of difference is mobile as a primary gaming device: "Nearly half (44%) of women players play exclusively on mobile devices, compared to 27% of men." While I don't love using demographics as a core targeting methodology (I favor using motivations and other behavioral traits), there's clearly an opportunity with mobile and more "casual" titles. Is it a coincidence that many of the top revenue mobile games have broad appeal but specifically appeal to women? hmmmm. ??