Generation Z buys fewer games than ever: 60% only acquires two a year

The Circana report reflects how video game consumption is becoming increasingly concentrated in a reduced audience.

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The market is changing, and so are the habits of gamers. A new study by the analysis firm Circana (formerly NPD Group) has revealed that over 60% of gamers in the United States buy only one or two games per year, while only a small group maintains a monthly purchasing pace.

The data comes from the report Future of Video Games Q3 2025, shared by analyst Mat Piscatella, who explained that most gamers limit their purchases to one or two titles per year, and that regular spending on full games falls on a very specific minority of consumers.

Only 4% buy more than one game per month

The report details that 18% of gamers acquire a new title every six months, 12% do so once a year, and 33% even less frequently. Overall, this means that 63% of the audience only buys two games or less per year, while 22% buy one every three months and 10% one per month.

• The most active group (a 4% of users who buy more than one game per month) would, according to Piscatella, be the engine that keeps the full-price release market alive. In his words, these “hyper-enthusiastic, price-insensitive gamers” are the ones who sustain a large part of the traditional business, especially outside the free-to-play environment.

This behavior reinforces the trend towards subscription models like Xbox Game Pass, where gamers prefer to pay a fixed fee and access a wide catalog, rather than buying individual games frequently. Additionally, the data suggests that publishers are increasingly dependent on a small but constant core of loyal buyers, while the rest of the audience opts to wait for discounts or focus on free titles.

The Circana study highlights how the industry is adapting to a scenario where loyalty, time, and accessibility weigh more than the number of purchased releases.