Ever since lockdowns began, COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the gaming industry, both in positive and negative ways. While a number of games in development have seen their release dates pushed, and developers have warned of studios relying on crunch more to keep up with timetables, player engagement with gaming has skyrocketed. As lockdowns begin to ease, however, this surge now looks likely to fall.
Changes in Gaming Habits During and Post-Lockdown
The gaming industry has enjoyed two of its most successful months of all time during COVID-19. As people are stuck at home, more and more people have spent time (and money) on gaming. While there was always likely to be a drop eventually, the drop may not be as large as some were expecting. According to a STORAGECafé survey on Americans’ favorite pastimes, gaming is likely to see a decline in engagement of just 4% post-lockdown.
A variety of pastimes look to benefit as lockdowns end, especially outdoor activities such as sports and gardening. (Which are likely to see increases of 7%, and 2%, respectively.) Interestingly, however, while gaming engagement is expected to drop, its drop is not nearly as steep as; “watching TV or streamed media” or “screen time (excluding gaming)” both of which are expected to see drops of more than double that of gaming. The latter of the two could see a drop of almost triple, in fact.
The Impending Drop and its Likely Impacts
What this suggests is that the gaming industry has made significant gains during lockdown which won’t evaporate as lockdown ends. People will spend less time in front of a screen because, for the first time in months, other activities will be available. However, people’s appetite for gaming has weathered that drop far better than other forms of screen-based entertainment. That makes it more likely that gaming engagement will average out higher than pre-lockdown in a few months’ time.
Certainly, it’s also worth noting that gaming subscription services like Xbox Game Pass have seen record engagement during lockdown. It’s unlikely that these services will see mass exoduses as lockdowns end. That means that their audiences will likely remain larger than pre-lockdown. As a result, engagement in the future with new releases, etc. is likely to stay high.
All in all, the gaming industry shouldn’t expect the success of the last few months to continue initially. However, with next-gen consoles due to launch at the end of the year, and highly-anticipated releases like Cyberpunk 2077 and the next Call of Duty still to come, 2020 is very likely to be a record-breakingly successful year for the gaming industry. Indeed, it could easily be the most successful year ever for the industry, despite the delays and other difficulties caused by COVID-19.