If you pick up a new video game every few months, you are in the minority for US players. That’s because roughly 63% of American gamers buy a maximum of two games annually, according to research firm Circana. Taken further, 33% of the market overall doesn’t even purchase one new title per year.
Circana senior director Mat Piscatella shared these purchasing frequency nuggets on Bluesky. They’re part of the company’s Q3 2025 Future of Games report. “Hyper enthusiast, price-insensitive players are really keeping things going, especially in the non [free-to-play] gaming space,” Piscatella said.
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.
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— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) October 2, 2025 at 12:54 PM
The data states that only 4% of US players buy more than one game monthly. People who pick up one title per month account for 10% of the market, while 22% grab a game every three months.
There has been a theory for decades that a large segment of players only buy Call of Duty or Madden each year, with both titles consistently sitting at the top of the US sales charts. However, with free-to-play offerings like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, it’s possible that that share of people has grown larger.
The massive launch of Switch 2 has helped buoy the US video game market overall in 2025. However, in July, Circana reported that young Americans (between the ages of 18-24) were spending a whole lot less on video games this year.
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