Gamers have gotten through the pandemic in part thanks to their favorite pastime. Nearly as soon as lockdown started, there was a 46% increase in the number of gamers in the United States. Though people turned to games when they had to give up other things, customer relationship management company Sykes wondered what the most dedicated gamers would give up to keep gaming.
The company surveyed those who play games daily and found that if they had to choose between giving up their social media followers forever or not gaming for a month, 62% would say goodbye to their online friends. They’d even be willing to let go of some IRL friends, with 54.6% who would prefer to not talk to their friends for a month if it was a choice between that and gaming. If asked to give up gaming for a month, 68.53% of those surveyed would rather do without TikTok, 61.65% without Netflix, and 60% sans their streaming music platforms of choice.
A month, as we all know now, can fly by. But a year, well—we’ve felt the past one drag on. If gamers were separated from their games, a year could feel even longer to them. So if they had to choose, 67.53% would give up food-delivery apps for a year, 66.4% would do without Amazon Prime delivery, and 65.67% would abstain from drinking alcohol.
With vaccines rolling out, there’s a lot to look forward to in the next year: dinner parties with friends, drinks at rooftop bars, slower strolls through stores. For those who game, you can add to the list some new titles. Survey respondents said they had the releases of Mario Kart 9, God of War: Ragnarok, Resident Evil Village, Halo Infinite, Far Cry 6, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, New Pokemon Snap, Gotham Knights, Gran Turismo 7, and Monster Hunter Rise on their minds.
