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Esports News UK covers a spate of recent surveys and reports looking at gamer information in the UK and beyond
Call of Duty named among the UK’s most popular gaming franchises, average gamer spend revealed
According to a study of 1,001 UK adults, commissioned to mark the launch of the One4all Gamers Favourites Gift Card last month, Call of Duty beat historic favourites including Super Mario, Grand Theft Auto and FIFA to the number one spot.
According to the data, the average gamer in the UK spends £298.20 on video games and in-game purchases each year.
The full top ten is as follows:
| 1. | Call of Duty |
| 2. | Super Mario |
| 3. | Grand Theft Auto |
| 4. | Mario Kart |
| 5. | FIFA |
| 6. | The Sims |
| 7. | Assassin’s Creed |
| 8. | Animal Crossing |
| 9. | Pokemon |
| 10. | Minecraft |
The average UK gamer is a full-time professional, in his late 30s and a dad of three
This study of 2,000 UK adults by pay-as-you-go energy company Utilita, as part of its #EnergyHigh5 campaign, found that those who enjoy games are ‘more likely’ to be family men, property owners and commanding a salary in excess of £40,000 a year.
The study also found that men and women dedicate almost the same amount of time to gaming.
Women spend just under an hour-and-a-half a day gaming, compared to men who spend an hour and 40 minutes, which is most commonly spent on a PlayStation.
Out of the UK’s 9.2 million ‘gamer’ households, most have at least two consoles.
But 34 per cent of those polled via OnePoll admitted to leaving at least one on standby all the time when they are not playing, but they are paying a high price for doing so.
According to Utilita Energy, the 3.1m gaming households (34 per cent) which leave a console in standby mode for up to 22 hours per day could save themselves a combined £56m by the end of this year, by turning the console off completely.
League of Legends is the most played title by gamers in long-distance relationships
A new survey conducted by UK online casino platform, casinocountdown.com, has explored which factors are most influential for British gamers according to each relationship status (single, in a relationship, married and divorced).
Other casino sites out there include royal1688.
League of Legends is apparently the most played game for those in long-distance relationships, with 45% of surveyed gamers saying they play it together.
Now, it’s also worth noting the age breakdown in this unusual study of 300 people is predominantly those in their 30s and 40s:
- 18-24: 8 respondents (3%)
- 25-34: 43 respondents (14%)
- 35-44: 83 respondents (27%)
- 45-54: 106 respondents (34%)
- 55-64: 68 respondents (22%)
The most played games by Brits in lockdown
More Brits than ever played video games last year to beat the boredom of staying home, and our third lockdown in 2021 has seen the trend gain even more traction.
Fresh Student Living took a deep dive into the gaming industry in the UK to see just what an impact Covid has had on gaming.
According to their data, here’s the top eight list:
- FIFA 21 (2.18 million)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (1.4 million)
- Grand Theft Auto 5 (1.1 million)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (800,000)
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (660,000)
- The Last of Us Part II (530,000)
- NBA 2K20 (480,000)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (430,000)
In the UK, 54% of men and women play a game most days, with two of the primary motivators being lowering stress and connecting with others.
The research by Fresh Student Living also found that 3 in 10 people are skipping showers and meals to play uninterrupted. Almost 6 in 10 Brits also admit to losing sleep due to gaming sessions.
It also stated that the pandemic has also created a whole new subgenre of gamers known as ‘Covideogamers’, who exclusively started gaming during lockdown. Compared to 36% of existing gamers between the ages of 18 – 34, apparently Covideogamers now make up 46% of the population in the same age group.
There’s more info in this infographic:
The games that cause gamers to rage quit the most
Keen to explore the effects that losing a game has on players, TopRatedCasinos.co.uk analysed data from a forced-ranking survey of 3,792 gamers and thousands of comments on Reddit to reveal their top 10 games that players rage quit from the most.
Fortnite, Rocket League and FIFA are all up there, as is Minecraft and others.
There’s more general gaming info in this Currys/PC World report
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
