According to GAMIVO’s analysis, most gamers tend to buy games up to 20 euros. Over 71% of purchases fall into this segment. It means that the price of only three out of ten video games exceeds 20 euros. Despite looking for savings, gamers don’t have to agree to lower quality. Their preferences derive from market trends, publishers’ price policies, and an unfavorable market environment.
After further analyzing the data published by the GAMIVO e-commerce platform, we can find that the 10-20 euro segment is the most popular among gamers. As much as 25.2% of purchases fall into this category. Slightly less popular are releases costing from 5 to 10 euros (23.6%) and up to 5 euros (22.4%). The 20 euro threshold is a noticeable barrier. Video games from 20 to 30 euros are responsible for 12.81% of orders. Regarding the 30-45 euro segment, the share decreases to 9%. Titles over 45 euros account for only 7% of purchases.
Those statistics prove that gamers tend to pick discounted games and indie titles. Such a trend originates from many reasons. One of them is the increase in the price of the biggest AAA releases from 60 to 70 dollars.
“Even such a high price isn’t enough to deter many gamers. As a result, we observe that the average basket value usually increases during the period of significant premieres. Playing a newly released game has a wide array of advantages because it helps avoid spoilers plaguing the web. It also lets you experience something new together with other fans. On the other hand, most new games feature annoying bugs that are eradicated until the first discount. That is why many players prefer to hold off on buying for some time. There are myriads of great video games, so postponing the purchase isn’t particularly challenging,” explains Mateusz Śmieżewski, GAMIVO’s CEO.
Polish players are frugal
Mexico is the country where players most often buy games under 20 euros (84%). Brazil comes second (80.7%), while Poland is third (77%).
“The fact that players in those countries buy cheaper games doesn’t mean they pick worse titles. Video games are a specific medium when it comes to the price. We can find a lot of outstanding indie releases in the lower-price segments. Balatro, universally considered one of the best games of 2024, is a prime example, as its official price is 13.99 euros. Discounted AAA hits are another significant group of games under 20 euros. Besides old classics, players may get titles that dominated bestseller lists a year or two earlier,” clarifies Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Italy stands on the opposite side of the list. 35.6% of video games bought by Italian players cost 20 euros or more. Right behind them are Germans (35.3%), Dutch (34.8%), Spanish (30.2%), and French (30%). Less than 30% of video games purchased by gamers from the USA and United Kingdom cost over 20 euros. That shows that even players from countries considered wealthy don’t mind getting discounted releases.
“Publishers’ price policy is a significant factor. According to our analysis of the most popular AAA releases from the past few years, players have to wait about 100 days for the first official discount. The second usually occurs after 155 days, and the third after 198 days. Players who can patiently wait for approximately 240 days can enjoy even better deals. Obviously, promotions depend on the title and the publisher’s strategy. Sometimes, games are discounted right after the release. However, such a rush is often criticized by players who have paid the full price and feel deceived,” said the GAMIVO CEO.
Cheaper and more
Not only gamers’ habits but also the market environment determine trends. Players face increasing expenses, inflation, and a decrease in the extra budget they can spare on entertainment.
“In the past months, we have observed an unfavorable economic environment. In such circumstances, saving on entertainment is at the top of the list to relieve our household budget. It doesn’t prevent video game enthusiasts from getting any new titles. They’re rather pushed to pick cheaper ones, wait for discounts, or play free games. The recent Newzoo report shows that free-to-play releases, including Overwatch, League of Legends, Roblox, Fortnite, and Apex Legends, are among the most played titles. Those are renowned and constantly improved games, so players can have a quality product without spending a dime,” underlines Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Methodology
The analysis was conducted on the data collected by GAMIVO between January 1 and November 30, 2024. GAMIVO is a global platform with over 5.8 million registered users.
