This Is How Much Playing Video Games Will Cost You Over Your Lifetime
Written by
Nicole Spector
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
Gaming was already phenomenally popular — then the COVID-19 lockdowns arrived, and interest in all things digital swelled. The momentum around gaming hasn’t died down and is only expected to increase. According to PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2022-26, the global gaming sector will be worth $321 billion by 2026.
Clearly a lot of people are playing videogames — and it isn’t a cheap hobby.
Millennial Gamers Spend the Most Money
A recent survey by All Home Connections found that the average gamer spends about $76 a month on their hobby, or $912 a year. The average life expectancy is 78.79 years, and assuming that gamers started gaming at the age of 12, that amounts to $60,912.48 over a lifetime.
Millennials as a cohort spend even more than the average gamer overall: $86 per month, or $1,032 a year. If an average millennial started gaming when they were 12 and lives to be 78.79 years old, they’ll have spent $68,927.28 on their passion for gaming. Gen X spends a pretty penny too: $62 a month ($744 a year) and $49.691.76 over a lifetime, assuming they also started gaming at age 12. Unsurprisingly, baby boomers — whose childhoods weren’t necessarily filled with gaming consoles — spend the least: $52 a month (or $624 a year) on gaming.
All eyes are on Gen Z, a generation that was born into the digital era — one where gaming is practically omnipresent. So far, according to the survey, the average Gen Z gamer spends $80 monthly, or $960 yearly. Could that number rise further? If the gaming industry continues to explode as predicted, related expenditures will almost certainly climb.
More From GOBankingRates
