MIDiA's gamer segmentation Prioritise why – not just how – players engage with games
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20,000 foot view
The games landscape is more dynamic and interconnected than ever, demanding a deeper understanding of why players engage with games – not just how. We are proud to introduce MIDiA’s gamer segmentation, which focuses on motivations, attitudes, and underlying reasons behind gaming behaviours. We shift the lens from traditional behaviour-based segmentation (platform preferences, play time, and genres) to a more nuanced, attitudinal framework. The full report reveals some universal truths, while also highlighting distinct (secondary) motivations. We designed our segmentation as a framework to complement – not replace – traditional segmentation. Combining the "why" with the "how" unveils a holistic understanding of gamers as entertainment consumers, letting marketers, product teams, and investors craft strategies grounded in real-world behaviours. After all, the attention economy is oversaturated and games increasingly compete not only with other games but also social media, film, music, and more.
Key data and insights in this report:
- Distribution of gamers’ main reason for playing games, Q3 2024, global
- Age and gender distributions and average salaries per persona, Q3 2024, global
- Penetration of secondary reasons for playing per persona, Q3 2024, global
- Gaming behaviour by persona, Q3 2024, global
- Average weekly hours across entertainment by persona, Q4 2024, global
- Average monthly money spent per entertainment segment by persona, Q4 2024, global
- Average weekly non-digital time spent per segment by persona, Q4 2024, global
This report sources data from:
- Qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews with 10 gamers across different personas
- MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q3 2024, Total: 9,000 (US: 1,000, UK: 1,000, Australia: 1,000, Canada: 1,000, Germany: 1,000, France: 1,000, Netherlands: 1,000, Japan: 1,000, Mexico: 1,000)
- MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q4 2024, Total: 9,019 (US: 1,002, UK: 1,000, Australia: 1,001, Canada: 1,000, Germany: 1,006, France: 1,008, Sweden: 1,000, South Korea: 1,001, Brazil: 1,001)
Words: 5773 Pages: 27 Infographics: 7
Companies, products, and artists mentioned: Amazon, Animal Crossing, Alexa, Arcane, Call of Duty, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Candy Crush, Coronation Street, Cyberpunk 2077, Dark Souls, Discord, EA FC, Eastenders, Elden Ring, Facebook, FIFA, Fortnite, From Software, League of Legends, Minecraft, Netflix, Red Dead Redemption 2, Riot Games, Stardew Valley, TikTok, Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN), Valorant, and World of Warcraft