10 recent reports on UK gaming/esports trends for 2022: Brits less likely to trust gaming influencers, UK’s most searched-for game and streamer revealed, Brits among the most curious about the metaverse & more

make uk esports great again richard lewis 1

There’s been a ton of reports about new trends in UK gaming and esports flooding our inbox over the past month or so – here’s a roundup of 10 recent findings providing new facts and stats about UK gaming and beyond.

Brits less likely to trust gaming influencers

YouGov’s report into the power of gaming influencers found t hat Brits are less likely to trust gaming influencers compared to gamers in other countries.

In Great Britain, 48% of followers of gaming influencers trust their recommendations, compared to higher percentages in other countries.

Gaming personality followers are much more likely to trust influencers in the US versus non-gaming influencers. See more in this table:

yougov gaming influencer da

The resarch also found that humour is key to gaming influencer appeal: 86% of fans in the UK and US rate this attribute and 68% want ads that entertain.

CoD Vanguard is the UK’s most searched game

Which games released in the last year have been the most searched on Google across the globe?

Uswitch explored 2021 video game search data to find out that in the UK in particular, Call of Duty Vanguard was the most-searched game.

The most-searched game across the world was Amazon’s New World, which was the most-searched title in 48 countries last year.

Tommyinnit is the UK’s most searched-for streamer

tommyinnit

New research released from Superdry revealed the world’s most search for video games and Twitch streamers of 2021.

Tommyinnit (pictured) is the UK’s most searched-for Twitch streamer on Google.

Overall, Fortnite is the world’s most popular video game to be searched for online, beating Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto. And the most Googled Twitch streamer in the world is Ninja, followed by the UK’s TommyInnit.

Last April, UK streamer TommyInnit was named the fastest-growing Twitch streamer of 2021.

Brits among the most curious about the metaverse

The UK is the second most curious country about the metaverse, according to digital adoption platform Walk Me.

France ranks number one with an average 1,020 monthly online searches about the metaverse per million internet users in the country. The UK is second, followed by Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. You can check out the full results below:

metaverse european country

More than half of the UK play online games after pandemic, and how games help with mental health

More than half of UK adults (51%) are playing online games, with COVID-19 lockdowns leading to the numbers more than doubling, new research from digital board game group Marmalade Game Studio shows.

Its nationwide study found 28% of adults downloaded games for the first time during the crisis as they looked for new ways to entertain themselves and their families while forced to stay at home during lockdowns.

One in four also said that online games helped greatly with their mental health. 16% of EU gamers say being able to play games online and connect with others, particularly families, helped during lockdowns. And 42% say playing multiplayer games during lockdown made them happier.

Marmalade Game Studio commissioned the independent consumer research company Consumer Intelligence to interview 1,022 adults aged 18+ weighted to represent the UK population between November 12th and 14th 2021.

Top 1.2% of streamers generate 15.8% of the total estimated streaming revenue

A report from Stream Hatchet in January 2022 found that the top 1.2% of influencers generate 15.8% of the total estimated revenue, with ‘mega tier’ influencers generating an average of $841,000 per year.

Twitch continued to dominate the video games livestreaming market among Western livestreaming platforms, accounting for 71% of the total hours watched in 2021. YouTube (Live) was the only major Western platform to see a decline in live streaming watch time.

Viewers watched an average of 653m hours of live streaming each week across Twitch, YouTube and Facebook Gaming in 2021, and livestreaming watch time remains buoyant with 21% year-on-year growth.

Steam Hatchet also found that 5% of the top 200 video game streamers on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook Gaming are women.

Two thirds of UK dads are regular gamers

boomer gamers old snake

Middle-aged men with children are more likely to spend their leisure time playing games, online or via console, such as FIFA and Fortnite, than men without children. And dads are increasingly mirroring the playing habits of the ‘Zoomer’ generation (adults up to the age of 22), according to a study from gaming group Entain.

Nearly two-thirds (59%) of British dads aged between 25 and 44 play computer or video games every week, while more than half (56%) also say they play mobile games like Candy Crush and 84% use social media to keep up with friends. British dads game twice as much as women in the same age group (29%). 

Entain’s study, which polled over 16,000 people, found that ‘Digital Dads’ are nearly as interested in gaming as adults up to the age of 22.  While adults under the age of 24 are still the biggest video gamers, with 53% playing computer or video games every week, mid-life gamers have almost caught up: 46% of adults in the 25-34 age bracket game every week and it’s 36% among 35-44-year-olds.

Majority of UK esports fans positive towards sponsors

In general, sponsors are well-received from esports fans and generate positive sentiment. That’s according to some data published in a report by Nielsen and Fnatic packed full of info on ‘The ROI (return on investment) of Esports’.

esports fans attitudes towards sponsors

72% of esports execs say that esports needs a governing body

This one is less UK-focused, but interesting nonetheless. 72% of esports executives strongly or somewhat agree that esports needs a single overarching governing body for regulation and rule setting, up from 44% in 2020. 

And respondents increasingly view the lack of oversight from a governing body as a threat to the esports betting market.

That’s according to the 4th Annual Esports Survey Report, published in January 2022 and conducted by Foley & Lardner LLP in partnership with the Sports Business Journal and The Esports Observer.

The report also found:

  • Nearly 90% of executives queried expect investment and deal activity to increase over the first half of 2022
  • Respondents again view cybersecurity/malware attacks and IP rights/licensing issues as the greatest legal threats tothe esports industry
  • Esports professionals are bullish on NFTs. Nearly 80% believe the prevalence of NFTs in esports will increase this year

PHub reveals most searched video games, characters and consoles of 2021

gamer hygiene witcher bath

We placed these stats down in the gutter of this article, where it belongs. Pornhub recently released its 2021 Year in Review (safe for work link), which found that:

  • Fortnite continued to be the most searched for game on Pornhub. Minecraft moved up two spaces to become the second most popular search, above Overwatch and Pokemon
  • The most searched for video game characters included Lara Croft, D. Va and Super Mario
  • Playstation’s share grew again by 17.6% to make up over 60% of console-based visits. Xbox increased its share 6% to 36.8%, while PS Vita and the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS shrank to just a fraction of Pornhub’s traffic from gaming devices

More recent esports reports (all very much safe for work)!

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