SuperData: US millennials spend $112 a month on gaming

Millennials in North America spend on average $112 per month on gaming, according to a report from SuperData.

The report, Millennials on Millennials: Gaming Media Consumption, takes a look at the behaviours and demographics of gamers.

Despite frequently being pegged by the mainstream media as 20-somethings who are "killing" multiple industries, millennials bankroll the games industry and are now aged between 22 and 38.

The report found that millennials spend on average $20 more than Generation Z and nearly twice as much as Generation X, who only spend $59 a month.

Much like other entertainment industries, gaming is increasingly online and digital.

In total, millennial gamers spend $72 a month on downloads and gaming subscriptions, compared to $39 on physical media. Meanwhile, they spend $22 a month on in-game purchases.

Millennials are the first generation to have grown up with widespread access to video games, with two in three playing games every month.

"The millennial generation will not be leaving gaming behind anytime soon," said SuperData co-founder Joost van Dreunen.

"In fact, they are actually set to be the first generation of lifelong gamers. Brands and media companies needing to reach the highly-engaged millennial audience should consider adding gaming to their media plans to be visible in the places where they spend a significant part of their leisure time and money."

The study also found that 71% of millennial gamers watch gaming video content on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.

This demographic watches nearly six hours of gaming content every week, contributing an average of $29 in donations each month to their favourite content creators.

According to SuperData, these contributions account for 30% of gaming video content revenue in 2019.

Millennial gamers play predominantly on smartphones, with 70% playing mobile games at least once a month. For console gaming this figure is 60%, and for PC gaming just 30%.

Other info tidbits from SuperData show that 54% of millennial gamers have full-time jobs, and 45% identify themselves as early tech adopters (compared to 37% of Generation Z, and 28% in Generation X).

There's also roughly an even gender split among millennial gamers, which SuperData largely attributes to the smartphone audience where 54% are women.

Additionally, the average household income of millennial gamers is $58,000 per annum, with 43% having earned a bachelor's degree or higher.

Finally, 75% of millennial gamers are white, 10% are Asian, 9% are Hispanic, 9% are Black/African American, 3% are Native America, and 2% are other/prefer not to say.