We spend extra time than ever scrolling, swiping, and streaming. Most of it passes by in a blur, and habits like doom-scrolling fill the time however go away us feeling empty. However there’s one kind of leisure that feels totally different – one that provides again, turning moments into that means – and in a method that our social feeds hardly ever do. Gaming.
That’s the story behind The Tradition of Play Report, a brand new take a look at why play feels totally different and why so many individuals say it’s time effectively spent. To get a more true image of how gamers really feel about gaming, we partnered with Edelman Information & Intelligence to survey 1,500 grownup online game gamers within the U.S. – representing a broad mixture of play types and views, from core gamers to informal individuals, throughout numerous demographics and backgrounds (you may learn extra in regards to the report’s survey under).
The findings reveal three key causes gamers maintain coming again: that means, connection, and self-expression. It’s one thing you’ve identified for years, and now the world is catching on: gaming simply may be essentially the most fulfilling, socially related, and highly effective type of leisure at this time.
Significant Play
Almost 68% of gamers surveyed say gaming is extra emotionally fulfilling than their different hobbies, and three in 4 reported feeling that they’re doing one thing significant after they play. At Xbox, we predict that’s for good purpose: video games don’t simply entertain us – they ask one thing of us. After we construct, discover, or compete, we create our personal pleasure. The reward isn’t passive. It’s private.
Likes Fade. Play Lasts
Six in ten gamers in our examine made lifelong associates by way of gaming, and greater than half say their communities have supported them in robust instances. In a world of fleeting interactions, gaming helps construct one thing lasting – actual connection. Connection so actual, in actual fact, that three in 4 gamers we talked to hope to move their love of play on to the following era.
Over the previous 12 months, 46% of our gamers on Xbox selected to recreation collectively throughout titles like Name of Obligation, Forza Horizon 5 and Fortnite that constantly ship these shared experiences.
Play Formed By You
In every single place else on-line, algorithms determine what we see subsequent. However in video games, we determine who we’re, what we do, and the way we play. That freedom issues. However freedom doesn’t imply going at it alone. Almost half of gamers surveyed say they typically really feel overwhelmed by too many selections in gaming, virtually 9 in ten discover curation helpful, and eight in ten say they’re open to smarter methods to find what to play subsequent.
That’s why we’re exploring new instruments like Gaming Copilot to maintain discovery easy and make each session really feel a bit of extra private, with out taking away the alternatives that make play yours.
The Tradition Play Constructed
Day by day, tens of millions of gamers are constructing extra than simply video games. The that means, connection, and self-expression they discover by way of play have reshaped how we inform tales, share concepts, and see ourselves. When individuals are fulfilled by play, they create, share tales, join, construct worlds, remix developments — and that creativity is now a part of our collective tradition.
Gaming’s affect reveals up in every single place: within the films we watch, the music we stream, the garments we put on, and the communities we type. It’s proof that play doesn’t simply replicate tradition — it helps construct it.
Your Flip
Everybody has a second that reminds them why they play – a favourite recreation, a shared win, or a friendship that’s lasted lengthy after the sport ended. For almost 25 years, Xbox has been about bringing folks collectively by way of play –and creating moments and experiences that flip gamers into associates, teammates, and even household.
As we enter our twenty fifth Anniversary yr, we’ll rejoice your tales and connections that outline the guts of Xbox. These insights will assist us maintain shaping what comes subsequent, as a result of we imagine everybody ought to have the possibility to create these moments – enjoying the video games they love, wherever they’re.
How We Carried out the Tradition of Play Report Survey
Microsoft commissioned Edelman Information & Intelligence to conduct a 20-minute on-line survey amongst 1,500 online game gamers in america, between June 25 and July 2, 2025. The panel of survey respondents have been fastidiously chosen to intently match U.S. inhabitants demographics and the respondents are consultant of American males and lady, ages 18 and older.
The audiences analyzed on this report embody three distinct segments: Core Gamers (who spend most of their leisure time gaming and following gaming information intently), Enthusiastic Gamers (who spend 1 / 4 to half their leisure time gaming and casually observe developments), and Informal Gamers (who primarily play on cell or pill and barely observe gaming information).