People Don't Buy Anywhere Near As Many Games As You Think 1

Think about how many games release every single month. And then consider that more than 60% of US players purchase fewer than two new releases per year.

It doesn’t really make economical sense, does it? And it’s why we often frown at the idea of publishers making shorter, cheaper software so we can fill out the release schedule even more. The world, genuinely, does not need more games.

The above statistic comes courtesy of Circana’s Mat Piscatella, who was sharing research from the company’s Q3 2025 Future of Video Games survey.

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It found that only 14% of players buy one or more games per month. More than 60%, meanwhile, purchase two or fewer titles per year.

There are a few reasons for this, of course: an overall lack of interest, the economy, and the rise of “forever” games which keep people engaged over longer periods.

You can, theoretically, just play Fortnite, Roblox, or Genshin Impact and have a perfectly fulfilling experience.

Piscatella notes that it’s the “hyper enthusiast, price-insensitive players [who] are really keeping things going”. In other words, the people who splash out on every big new release and probably read websites like this.

He continues:

“Why are there premium gamepads, $149 collector’s editions, Pro consoles, and general rising prices? Because the price-insensitive, affluent players are the ones doing more of the spending as everyone else shifts more to free-to-play.”

Of course, money is still flooding into the industry through microtransactions.

Sony’s own financials tell us that it makes more money through in-game purchases than it does full-price releases at this point. It’s part of the reason it’s chasing live service success.

Still, we’re curious how many new games you purchase per year at this point. Are you one of the whales keeping the traditional gaming business alive, or have you slowly started to transition your spending elsewhere as well?

How often do you typically purchase a new game? (1,592 votes)

  1. More often than once a month24%
  2. About once a month24%
  3. About once every three months32%
  4. About once every six months13%
  5. About once a year5%
  6. Less often than once a year2%

[source bsky.app]