2025
9
UK Gaming Consumer: 2025
2025-11-19T10:02:19+00:00
REPB1BC15A0_583C_4D0C_9F88_ACE223E80455
2195
188706
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Report
en_GB
Most gamers play between 2-5 titles. This concentration means that aggregators, and game store fronts, should prioritise a curated selection and regularly rotate highlighted titles to serve this core segment.
UK
Gaming
Consumer Insights
simple

UK Gaming Consumer: 2025

"Handheld gaming is dominating new releases in 2025. As gaming shifts to digital distribution and device-agnostic platforms, major franchises thrive, but smaller titles may struggle for visibility."

Joe Birch, Senior Technology and Leisure Analyst

Joe Birch, Senior Technology and Leisure Analyst

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • Outlook for gaming
    • Opportunities
    • Distribution changes and cross platform play will cement gaming’s place beyond the console
    • Tap into consumers’ appetite for watching and playing games with hybrid content
    • Mintel Spark imagines a new hybrid gaming entertainment format
    • Gaming is an art form allowing for authentic brand interactions
  2. THE MARKET

    • Market drivers
    • Despite improvement in financial sentiment, consumers are still cautious
    • Graph 1: index of financial sentiment in the next year, 2016-25
    • Challenger brands could have an opportunity in tariff uncertainty
    • Graph 2: behaviour if usual product/brand wasn’t available, 2025
    • Consoles still affected by supply chain issues and plateauing demand
    • Government aims to turbocharge UK games development
    • AI will impact both game development and discovery
    • Gaming continues to become more accessible with hardware barriers being broken down
    • Market background
    • Computers versatility makes them key gaming devices
    • Sony is market leader in static consoles
    • Graph 3: ownership of static games consoles, 2025
    • Promote seamless cross-save and remote play of handhelds
    • Opportunity for computer manufacturers to offer future proofing of devices
  3. THE CONSUMER

    • Gaming frequency
    • Mobile gaming drives daily play
    • Gaming activity is higher on consumers’ most owned technology devices
    • Graph 4: frequency of video game playing past three months, by device, 2025
    • Young men in the habit of watching gaming content
    • Interactive play-alongs can drive hybrid viewing and playing sessions
    • Graph 5: frequency of watching gaming content past three months, 2025
    • Broad foundation for gaming content amongst young people
    • Paid gaming content
    • In-app purchases are the entry points for monetisation
    • Graph 6: gaming content paid for in the past three months, 2025
    • Digital-first subscription models will drive the gaming market
    • Twitch’s dedicated gaming audience drives purchasing across all categories
    • Game discovery
    • Social channels are the shopfront for gaming discovery
    • Graph 7: game discovery methods, past three months, 2025
    • Retail stores place in the ecosystem is changing – sell the tools to help gamers level up
    • Leverage your expertise to create a vibrant gaming experience
    • Online gaming stores should focus on a handful of key titles to maximise engagement
    • Graph 8: number of games consumers have played in the past three months, 2025
    • Women are more likely than men to play only one game
    • Discovery and engagement features are key to appeal to active gamers
    • Graph 9: % of time spent playing favourite game in the past three months, 2025
    • Gaming behaviours
    • Nostalgia has bankable appeal in the cross play social age
    • Graph 10: gaming behaviours, 2025
    • Build the hype around new releases with game related events and films
    • Graph 11: gaming behaviours, 2025
    • Drive pre orders with premium content and brand activations
    • Attitudes towards gaming
    • Rethink gaming’s emotional and cultural appeal beyond entertainment
    • Give competitive gamers the tools for the job
    • Graph 12: attitudes towards video gaming, 2025
    • Let the games begin
    • Use the social camaraderie of gaming for increased interaction and loyalty
    • Graph 13: attitudes towards video gaming, 2025
  4. PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING

    • Launch activity and innovation
    • Nintendo launches its long awaited Switch follow up
    • Microsoft finally enters the handheld market in partnership with Asus
    • Competition is hotting up in the PC handheld space
    • Innovation drives gaming gaming PCs to new heights
    • NVIDIA chips pushing premium laptop gaming to new highs
    • VR headsets, controllers and new distribution methods increase gaming’s reach
    • Breakthrough games hit different gaming segments
    • Advertising and marketing
    • 2025’s advertising driven by social campaigns
    • Graph 14: total above-the-line, online display, social media and direct mail advertising on game downloads, games hardware, games software, mobile apps – games and consoles & pre owned games and consoles, 2021-25
    • Nintendo spends big with Switch 2 support
    • Graph 15: total above-the-line, online display, social media and direct mail advertising on game downloads, games hardware, games software, mobile apps – games and consoles & pre owned games and consoles of top 10 advertisers, 2025
    • Microsoft out of home campaign reframes Xbox as a service
    • Sony drives strong monetisation via PlayStation Network
    • Graph 16: avg customer total spend and avg spend per transaction, 12 months to October 2025
  5. APPENDIX

    • Market definition
    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology
    • Repertoire analysis methodology
    • Other data source methodologies
    • Mintel Spark
    • Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
    • Snoop SpendMapper methodology
    • Abbreviations
    • Abbreviations and terms – 1
    • Abbreviations and terms – 2

UK Gamer Trends and Insights

  • Mintel’s research finds that most UK gamers play between 2-5 titles. This concentration means that aggregators, and game store fronts, should prioritise a curated selection and regularly rotate highlighted titles to serve this core segment. This optimises discovery and eases switching between games, while reducing choice overload.
  • Over 70% of gamers play fewer than five games, and this points to market concentration. Large franchises release more content, potentially stifling innovation and new game design for diverse audiences. This risks gaming becoming homogeneous, with big franchises thriving on loyal players and steady revenue from updates, sequels, or expansions, while new games struggle to break through.
  • The shift to digital game distribution will continue as digital downloads and cloud gaming continue to grow at the expense of physical games. Gaming will also become more device-agnostic, with traditional consoles under threat from play across computers, handhelds and mobile.

Key Topics Covered in the Report

  • The ownership of hardware specifically for gaming, including laptops, desktops, games consoles, handhelds and VR headsets
  • Frequency of playing and watching video games across devices, with the accessibility of mobile gaming driving daily use
  • Gaming related purchasing with nearly half of consumers paying for some form of gaming content or activity
  • Behaviours, preferences and demographics of consumers who play, and pay for video games and gaming content
  • Methods of discovering video games, with social media playing a vital role
  • Attitudes towards video gaming, including a look at the role competitiveness and personal achievement play in driving gaming engagement
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