US Gamers Aren’t Buying Video Games Anymore, New Study Reveals

A new study has revealed that most US gamers are no longer buying video games. The surprising research revealed that the majority of game sales are supported by a small group of hardcore hobbyists. The Nintendo Switch 2’s record-breaking sales may also be saving the industry.

63% of US Gamers Buy Two Games or Fewer Per Year

An interesting study from marketing research firm Circana recently revealed that gaming habits in the US are drastically shifting in 2025. The results were revealed by prolific games industry expert Mat Piscatella in an October 2 post on BlueSky.

The senior director for Circana explained that only 30 percent of US-based gamers purchase one or two games per year. However, the even more surprising statistic is that 33 percent of gamers in the US don’t buy any new games at all over a typical 12-month period.

It’s unclear if this is being impacted by subscription services such as Game Pass or the continued popularity of free-to-play games such as Roblox and Fortnite. Microtransactions in live-service games, for example, aren’t typically counted as game sales. Mat Piscatella went on to explain that most game sales in the industry are being fueled by “hyper enthusiasts.”

“Hyper enthusiast, price-insensitive players are really keeping things going, especially in the non-f2p gaming space. According to Circana’s Q3 2025 Future of Games, only 4% of US video game players buy a new game more often than once per month, with a third of players not buying any games at all.”

As a side note, I’m ashamed to admit that my wife and I totally fit into this bracket.

Nintendo Switch 2 Boosts Console Sales to Record Highs

While the above statistics may seem a bit depressing, Circana also revealed that gaming hardware sales are booming. In 2025, console sales have increased by 20 percent, largely due to the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2.

“Hardware – Year-to-date video game hardware spending has grown 20% versus a year ago, reaching $2.9 billion.”

Speaking of the Switch 2, Nintendo is already outpacing the sales records of the first Nintendo Switch. According to Mat Piscatella, the Switch 2 is actually outperforming the previous generation by as much as 77%.

“Hardware – Nintendo Switch 2 unit sales are trending 77% ahead of the time-aligned sales of the original Nintendo Switch.”

This is actually impressive when you consider that the Nintendo Switch 2 retails for $499. This is a staggering 66.9 percent price increase over the original Switch.

So, although US consumers are buying fewer games per year, the industry continues to thrive on console sales. However, the main takeaway from this study seems to be that the games industry is still largely being funded by hardcore gaming enthusiasts.