MY.GAMES survey of over 5,000 gamers in Europe and North America reveals a third of UK gamers report positive changes in community behaviour during lockdown

6 May 2020: MY.GAMES has today released the results of their “COVID-19 PC Gamer Survey”, which polled over 5,000 PC gamers on how their lives have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. UK gamers were the most optimistic of the territories, with 33% reporting that they felt behaviour in their games community had improved with lockdown measures in place. 27% of UK gamers reported they felt their online community had become more united, while 17% felt the community had become kinder.

32% of US gamers and 33% of gamers in Spain reported similar feelings, followed by 30% in Canada. 26% of Italian gamers also reported feeling this improvement, followed by 22% in Germany and 20% in France.

The survey was a self-reported study, conducted by MY.GAMES during the week commencing 20 April 2020. Players responded to questions on self-isolation, their living situation, and shifts in their gaming habits, following sessions in major MY.GAMES PC titles including Warface, Conqueror’s Blade, and Lost Ark.

At the time of the survey, 93% of UK respondents reported that they were in self-isolation, the highest of the study. This was followed by Italy (91%), Canada (90%), and Spain (88%). The majority of respondents were in lockdown with others, with 40% of UK respondents reporting they were in lockdown with relatives. Only 10% of UK respondents were in lockdown alone. Germany and France reported the highest rates of solo lockdown, reporting 17% and 13% respectively.

The majority of respondents reported that the lockdown had given them more leisure time. Across all the markets, the average time spent in video games increased by at least 50%. In Spain, respondents reported their gaming time increased by 80%. In terms of hours, the average time spent playing games every day increased by 3.9 hours in Spain, followed by 3.6 hours in the UK, and 3.4 hours in France.

Mood towards the lockdown varied across the territories. In the UK, while 56% reported feeling positive, 29% reported feeling “uncomfortable” or finding the situation “hard”. However in the rest of Europe, responses were more divided. 44% reported positively in Germany, compared to 38% negatively. In France the split was even closer, 42% positive and 40% negative. Italy reported the most negative feeling, with 49% negative in comparison to 41% positive.

“While it is great to see the MY.GAMES community coming together to support each other in these difficult times, the results show there is still work to be done” commented Vasily Maguryan, MY.GAMES CEO. “As members of the Fair Play Alliance, we are working hard to create more inclusive, healthy communities in our games. We will keep doing what we can to support our players and developers as the situation develops.”