Top video game genres worldwide by age 2024

As of the second quarter of 2024, shooter and action adventure games were the two most popular video game genres across the globe. Shooter games ranked as the most-played gaming genre for age groups 16 to 54 years old. Action-adventure were the second-most popular game genre, ranking second across the majority of age groups. Online users aged 16 to 24 years were the only age group to have battle royale games in their top gaming genres, whereas older age groups also played online board games.

Shooter games – most-played across all age groups

Shooter video games are a type of action video game where the goal is almost entirely on defeating the character's enemies using firearms or other long-range weapons given to the player. Players can usually find in-game items such as ammunition and health packs or weapon upgrades during their session. Shooters are available on virtually all gaming platforms and can be played individually as a single-player, or in a multiplayer environment. Many shooter games are played competitively. A very popular type of shooter game are first-person shooters (FPS), where players experience everything through their character’s eyes in a first-person perspective while moving through a 3D space. Popular first-person shooters include the best-selling Call of Duty series, as well as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Doom, Quake, Team Fortress 2, and Halo.

Action adventures – a wide-ranging genre

Action adventures are also one of the most popular game genres, and players have a large variety of games to choose from. An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from action games (real-time interactions with the environment, physical and conceptual challenges) and adventure games (puzzles). The story that the player experiences is enacted rather than narrated. Popular action adventure games include The Legend of Zelda series, the Grand Theft Auto franchise, God of War, the Tom Raider series, as well as survival horror games like the Resident Evil series, or Metroidvania games.

Most popular video game genres among internet users worldwide as of 2nd quarter 2024, by age group

Characteristic	16-24 years old	25-34 years old	35-44 years old	45-54 years old	55-64 years old	65 years and older
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Release date

October 2024

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

Q2 2024

Age group

16 to 64 years

Special properties

internet users who say they play each type of video game on any digital device

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

Percentages represent share of users in each age group, regardless of whether they play video games.

The source adds the following: "Data for audience aged 65+ are not yet available in all countries, so findings for audiences aged 65+ may not be directly comparable with hose for other age groups."

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