Report: 50% of Australians Identify as Gamers
Gaming Is Now Part of Everyday Australian Life, New Havas Study Finds
New research revealing gaming’s growing role in social connection, skills and wellbeing, and what influential consumers expect from brands.
Gaming has transformed from a niche pastime into one of the world's most powerful cultural forces, according to a major new global study from Havas. The latest Prosumer Report, Open World: The Cultural Expansion of Gaming, finds that players increasingly view gaming as an extension of reality, rather than simply an escape from it.
Based on a survey of 11,000 adults across 25 markets, the report explores how gaming has evolved to become a space where people build friendships, express identity, develop skills, manage wellbeing, engage with social issues, and participate in culture.
The global study included an Australian sample of 513 adults aged 18 and over, with half identifying as casual or hardcore gamers.
With more than 3.2 billion players worldwide and an industry valued at approximately US$184 billion, gaming now exerts a level of cultural influence that rivals and often surpasses traditional media.
Among the report's key findings in Australia:
Gaming is becoming an extension of real life. Half of Australians surveyed identify as casual or hardcore gamers, while 59% of Australian Prosumer gamers say gaming has become an essential part of their lives. Among Australian Prosumers overall, 34% believe non-gamers are missing out on an important part of life.
Gaming is creating meaningful social connections. Six in 10 Australian Prosumers say gaming has made them more socially connected, and the same proportion say their gaming friendships are as important as those formed offline.
Players see gaming as a tool for personal growth. Ninety-six per cent of Australian Prosumers believe games can teach crucial skills, led by strategic thinking at 65% and problem solving at 62%. Strategy also ranks as their most important expectation from a game.
Mental wellbeing is becoming part of gaming's value proposition. Nearly eight in 10 Australian Prosumers believe gaming can benefit mental health when practised responsibly, while 68% see games as a refuge from an increasingly difficult world.
Players want stronger protections and accountability. Seventy-two per cent of Australian Prosumers want tougher penalties for harassment, while 77% believe random reward mechanics that encourage spending should be regulated as gambling.
Despite gaming’s increasingly important role, Australian players remain open to brand participation when it provides genuine value. Nearly nine in 10 Australian Prosumers, 87%, identify at least one way brands can add value to gaming platforms. Rewards are the strongest opportunity, with 67% wanting brands to recognise achievements with money or free products and 55% wanting them to reward engagement. However, brands must avoid simply adding to the clutter: 76% expect gaming to become saturated with advertising within the next decade.
Nick Smith, Managing Partner of Havas PLAY, said,
“Australia is a particularly interesting market because gaming is becoming increasingly cultural, social and mainstream. Players are no longer simply consuming games. They are using them to connect, express themselves, build skills and engage with the world around them. For brands, that means treating gaming less like a media channel and more like a cultural space, with a responsibility to contribute rather than simply interrupt.”
Almost two-thirds of Australian Prosumers, 65%, believe technology will integrate gaming into all aspects of life in the future. The findings suggest that brands must move beyond treating gaming as another advertising channel and focus instead on contributing to the experiences, communities and culture players already value.
Shane Russell, CEO of Havas Red Australia, added,
“The significance of these findings is not simply that more Australians are gaming. It is that gaming is becoming embedded in how people connect, learn and participate in culture. That challenges marketers to look beyond traditional audience definitions and recognise gaming as an increasingly influential part of everyday Australian life.”
