Sorry, Meta, but “metaverse gamers” are less likely to use Facebook.
That was one of the findings from Newzoo’s 2022 Game Trends report, which compared traditional gamers to “metaverse gamers,” those who play either Roblox, Fortnite, or Minecraft. The data company, which surveyed 5,521 gamers across the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany in August 2021, also found that metaverse players often play longer, pay more per month and are more active on TikTok and Snapchat.
The majority of metaverse players are male, with the average combined age across the three main platforms being younger (27 years old) than traditional gamers (38 years old). For metaverse players, 38% are 10-20 years old, while 36% are 21-35 years old. Those younger audiences have been a key draw for brands to connect with the next generation of customers.
Metaverse gamers also use Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite as a way to spend more time with friends. Over half of the metaverse players surveyed said they used the games to socialize. Social players were found to spend an average of two more hours a month playing than traditional gamers. Fortnite had the longest-engaged players, with social gamers spending an average of 11 hours and 19 minutes playing, compared to non-social players at 9 hours. This finding should encourage brands to have social components to their metaverse activations.
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Social gamers also spend more money than other gamers. The report found that the socializing players across the three platforms also spent an average of $1.28 more than non-socializing players in the last six months. For example, the average Fortnite player who plays for fun spent $29.32 on the platform. But Fortnite players who play for the socializing aspect spent $30.24 in the last six months.
That could lead to huge payouts for brands, especially as Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft have millions of players.
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