If you’d asked someone years ago what the typical video game player looks like, “young men” would have been the likely response. However, that outdated perception doesn’t match reality. According to the latest research from Australia’s peak gaming body, women outnumber men among the country’s gamers.
It’s the first time in the history of IGEA’s Australia Plays research reports that Australia has reported more female video game players than men. According to the newly released Australia Plays 25 report, co-authored with Bond University, 51 per cent of Australian gamers are female, 48 per cent are male, and one per cent is non-binary.
Previous reports found that the ratio between men and women has been close to 1:1, albeit slightly skewed towards male gamers. Consistent with the previous Australia Plays report in 2023, the average age of Australia’s video game players remains 35.
82 per cent of Australians play video games, the report claims. This includes games played on dedicated consoles (87 per cent), smartphones (71 per cent), and PC (58 per cent). Based on IGEA’s consumer sales report published earlier in the year, mobile is the platform where Aussies spend the most money, totalling $1.52 billion in 2024.
Playing video games as a family
Much of this year’s research focused on how families play video games together. Connection and spending time together were the most common responses from parents asked why they play video games with their children.
The report’s focus on families seems deliberately timed to coincide with the current review into Australia’s media classification scheme, in addition to concerns that video games could be impacted by the upcoming youth social media ban.
“We’ve seen a generation grow up with video games, and those gamers are now playing with their children,” said Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA. “They are still enjoying playing games and they know how to use them to create joy and connection within their families.”
“The research showed that many participants from this year’s survey had a strong understanding of parental controls on devices (74%) and in-game (70%) and the classification system, which is there to protect their children as they’re enjoying games.”
There are many more insights from the research, including the use of video games in school, work, and mental health contexts, via the full report on IGEA’s website.
