Games are still associated with men in the collective consciousness. Console game developers have counted mostly on the fact that, in terms of demographics, the player portrait is similar to their own. Even the Google Play Store features more male characters as app icons than female ones. But today, women are becoming an increasingly important consumer group.
In Poland, for example, in 2020, 47% of players were women—a serious challenge to stereotypes. The statistic is really surprising, as about 8 million Polish gamers are women. According to global studies, the percentage of female gamers is also high globally—46 %. For example, there are about 100 million female gamers in the US out of 212 million.
That said, women who play computer games rarely identify themselves specifically as gamers. Only 25% of women who played for at least 30 minutes a week identified themselves as gamers, while 55% of men did.
In the gaming community, reports that indicate a high percentage of female gamers are often controversial. This is partly because such reports often lump hardcore gamers together with casual gamers, which causes a fair amount of outrage.
People who enjoy computer games spend a lot of time playing them. Their involvement often leads to a more profound and immersive experience than casual players who play in small chunks of free time.
Women are thought to dominate a segment such as mobile gaming. Indeed, according to a Google Play study, 64% of mobile gamers are women. These numbers show that women are not just playing mobile games but leading this growing market. Nearly half (44%) of female gamers play exclusively on mobile devices, compared to 27% of men. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t play on PCs and consoles.
Women’s preferences in game genres differ significantly from men’s. They prefer platformers, adventure games, and puzzle games. The clear favorite among female gamers is RPGs. The fact that women traditionally prefer simulators is a stereotype. After RPGs, adventure and adventure games are second among female gamers.
A special place in women’s preferences is the so-called crash games with stakes, and among them, the classic match Aviator is the leader. Such great popularity is explained by the fact that Aviator has simple rules, which can be mastered in just a couple of minutes. And the rounds themselves last a few seconds. To start playing, you can only download a small application on your smartphone, a selection of which can be found on information sites such as here. For many, the Aviator game is the perfect way to pass another evening in your company.
However, women prefer not arcade games like Aviator but rather story games with a story. In their opinion, the story component is the most important thing, with interesting characters coming second. As for the experience, 75% of women prefer single-player, and only 25% prefer multiplayer. Also, the majority of women prefer to play from the third person.