Over 60% of gamers purchase two or fewer games each year, report reveals

According to a new report from analyst firm Circana, almost two-thirds of US-based gamers purchase two or fewer games per year, showing the impact of free-to-play titles and subscription services on the industry.

The details:

• The data come from Circana's Q3 2025 Future of Video Games survey, which was shared by senior director Mat Piscatella via Bluesky. According to the survey, 12% of US-based players buy only one game per year, while 18% buy one every six months. However, a surprising 33% buy even less frequently, purchasing less than one game per year, meaning that 63% of the survey's participants buy two or fewer games per year.
• As noted by Piscatella, the 14% of players who buy one or more games every month are those who are keeping the classic one-time purchase model alive, as they are typically more open to purchasing Deluxe Editions and paying a higher price for a title. “Been talking about this trend for years when it comes to games spending,” he wrote. “Why are there premium gamepads, $149 collector’s editions, Pro consoles, and general rising prices? Because the price-insensitive, affluent players are the ones doing more of the spending as everyone else shifts more to free-to-play.”
• Over the last decade, the gaming industry has shifted away from the traditional premium model of selling games for a single payment of $60 and toward free-to-play structures with live service elements. Fortnite, which pioneered the paid battle pass format, is widely credited with speeding up the change. Meanwhile, services like Xbox Game Pass allow players to pay a recurring monthly or yearly fee for access to hundreds of games, which some argue devalues titles.