So, as we all know there’s a pandemic going on, and through these difficult times, everyone copes in different ways. However, some people have turned to play games to give them comfort during this difficult period. These games are a variety, from being online multiplayer such as Call Of Duty: Warzone, a story related game like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, or even board games like Chess [which could be played both on the board and online with other people]. A couple of people have even started streaming and making videos of their game plays on the popular platforms ‘YouTube’ and ‘Twitch.’

In 2021, video game revenue is expected to increase by 14% year over year and Hit $154.6B so far. Throughout recent years companies have witnessed impressive growth in the video games industry, both in terms of revenue and the number of users. However, the entire industry flourished during the beginning of the tragic Covid-19 outbreak; where people will be spending more time indoors with nothing much to do other than to occupy themselves with games and quizzes, etc., online.

According to recent data, which had been presented by SafeBettingSites.com, the global video game revenues jumped to a massive 23% year over year and hit $135.8bn in 2020. As stated previously, the entire gaming market is heavily expected to increase by a further 14%.  

Statistics provided by pcmag.com, shows that 1 in 5 gamers have bought their first console during the global pandemic.

Zach Emmanuel, a Mintel technology Analyst, said: “COVID-19 has had a monumental impact on the sales of video games and consoles as Brits looked to stay entertained at home. While consumers’ concerns over finances are expected to have led to a decrease in purchases of technology products overall, it has not been the case for consoles.”

Here I am talking to a person who was able to buy their first console during this lockdown. They wanted to remain anonymous and will go by the name Trixie: 

As you can see, my interview with Trixie was a short and brief one where I just asked them some basic questions about their gaming experience.

Another story that stood out to me was from the BBC who had wrote a story on the 13th of April 2020, about someone who had been planning a surprise birthday party for his housemate, but unfortunately, Coronavirus and the lockdown had been announced and got in the way. They decided, and were able, to throw a party on an online video game instead which had been ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons.’ This game was coincidentally released for the Nintendo Switch on the same day as Oregon’s stay-at-home order.

Which Games Were The Most Popular?:

As video games were being released on practically all platforms, the team over at Fresh Student Living took a deep dive into the gaming industry in the UK to see the impact Covid has had on the gaming community. Games such as FIFA 21, Call of Duty, Animal Crossing, and Last of Us were some of the most played games of 2020, with 3 in 10 people skipping showers and meals to play uninterrupted.

FIFA 21 dominated in 2020 as one of the most anticipated games in the UK, with around 14 games selling per second in the UK last year. These are top 8 games that were bought and played last year:

1. FIFA 21 (2.18 million)
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (1.4 million)
3. Grand Theft Auto 5 (1.1 million)
4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (800,000)
5. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (660,000)
6. The Last of Us Part II (530,000)
7. NBA 2K20 (480,000)
8. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (430,000)

My Gaming Story:  

‘I’ve been playing games since I could remember. It started out as card games such as ‘Pokemon‘,’Yu-gi-oh‘ and ‘Top trumps‘.  

Then as a got a little bit older me and my siblings all got a DS each we all used to play games together such as Mario Party where we were competing against each other to win; but we also had to work together as a team sometimes. And I personally feel that games like that, where you’re competing against each other but also helping each other win are not really made in the today’s games, which is upsetting because they were actually really fun.  

Also, I partly remember when we got our first ‘family console’ which was actually the classic Nintendo WII where we played games like Monopoly [sometimes we still do, both on and off board]  Super Mario Bros, which took us ages to finish because we couldn’t work as a team for most of it cause we were all trying to be better than each other.’