76% of women online are playing games

76% of women in the global online population play games vs 83% of men, according to gaming data firm Newzoo’s Global Gamer Study. 43% of female gamers report spending money on games, compared to 58% of male gamers, and this difference remains consistent across platforms.

“Taken together, the data show that female gamers are highly engaged but tend to interact with the gaming ecosystem through different discovery pathways, platform preferences, and spending behaviours.”

“As the global gaming audience continues to diversify, success will increasingly depend on aligning distribution, platform strategy, and monetization models with how different audiences actually engage with games”, the report says.

28% of female gamers play on console vs. 40% of male gamers. 28% of women play on PC vs. 42% of men. 

Mobile participation is nearly identical (62% of women vs. 60% of men), highlighting its role as a universal access point, the report says.

“Even though the console is more popular among male players, women are more likely to own a Nintendo Switch: 38% of women report owning a Nintendo Switch or Switch Lite, compared with 29% of men, highlighting opportunities within this specific ecosystem.”

How women and men discover games differs. The report says that female gamers are less likely to use gaming-endemic channels:

• Specialist gaming websites and communities (15% of women vs. 22% of men).
• From game developers/publishers (16% women vs. 22% men).
• Discord communities (15% women vs. 21% men).
• Gaming subscription recommendations (19% women vs. 24% men).
• Content creators and influencers on social media or gaming streaming platforms (26% women vs. 30% men).

“YouTube remains a major discovery channel for both groups, though men report higher usage (43% vs. 36%).”

Discovery through broader platforms is nearly identical between genders:

• Social media promotions (37% women vs. 36% men).
• Online or app stores (33% women vs. 34% men).
• Recommendations from friends (35% women vs. 37% men).

The majority of gamers want to see more diversity in video game characters, according to a survey by Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and measurement firm Nielsen. Only about 30% of game-developers globally are women. The video game audience is diverse but the character composition of the most popular game titles does not reflect that reality.

Key findings from the survey: 

• 64% agree they would more likely play a video game if it has characters who are more diverse than usually in video games.” Only 12% disagree. The rest neither agrees nor disagrees.
• 63% agree they would more likely play a video game if it includes women as playable characters.” Among men, it is 60%, and among women, it is 68%.
• Among gamers ages 18 to 24, 72% agree they would be more likely to play a video game if it includes women as playable characters.” Video games make up 19% of the monthly entertainment spending for this age group.
• 47% agree saying they are less likely to play a video game that uses gender stereotypes.”