Young people are so strapped for cash that even video games are getting too expensive for them. A June study by Circana, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, found that spending among 18-to-24-year-olds dropped by 13% from January to April 2025 compared to last year. Video game purchases were hit particularly hard, falling nearly 25% according to a chart Circana's Mat Piscatella shared on BlueSky.
For context, Piscatella shared another chart comparing the drop in spending among Gen Z to spending changes in older generations. The difference is dramatic. Where older generations' spending dropped less than 5%, Gen Z's is plummeting. It's particularly surprising to see such a sharp drop in spending on video games, which historically cater toward young people.
Video game spend among 18 to 24's is down sharply."Young grads are having a much tougher time finding jobs. Student-loan payments are restarting for millions of borrowers... credit-card delinquency rates have risen to their highest points since before the pandemic..."www.wsj.com/personal-fin...
— @matpiscatella.bsky.social (@matpiscatella.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-10T21:01:24.815Z
This is part of a larger trend resulting from a perfect storm of harsh economic factors hitting Gen Z all at once, from a tough job market to student loans and rising prices. As Piscatella commented on BlueSky, "The rug's not just being pulled out from under young people, it's being burned while they're still standing on it."
Rising prices in the gaming industry are likely only making matters worse. If young adults are having a hard time justifying gaming purchases already, $70 or $80 becoming the new norm for AAA games isn't going to help. The same applies to consoles and PC hardware getting more expensive (I'm looking at you, Switch 2).
That doesn't mean young people aren't still gaming. As of March 2025, 28% of gamers are between 18 and 29 years old. Gen Z is still a huge part of the gaming community, they're just spending less money than older generations, possibly opting for more free-to-play games, buying less expensive indie games, or waiting for sales.
The rise of less expensive, co-op focused "friendslop" games such as Peak, Repo, and Lethal Company might actually be a sign of the times, too. These games are usually very affordable—around $10 or less—and act as a way for players to socialize and goof around together without having to go out or spend loads of money. Most "friendslop" games don't even require a particularly powerful PC, further lowering their barrier to entry.
