The ESA’s recently released report has found that Gen Z remains big on gaming. In the report, it was revealed that a staggering 82% of Gen Z play video games for at least an hour per week, compared with 71% for Millennials and 56% for Gen X. But in a time where Gen Z is also reportedly cutting back on video game purchases, there’s plenty to unpack when it comes to which games they’re actually playing. 

Gen Z Likes to Game, Mainly on Mobile 

It was only last year when news broke that Gen Z has been cutting back on video game purchases due to the fact they can no longer afford uber expensive AAA releases, which typically retail at around $70 now. 

Despite this, though, Gen Z hasn’t actually stopped gaming, with the ESA reporting that 82% of them play at least an hour a week, often even higher. 

Details within the report cover that they do this to “have fun”, while others use games as a source of relaxation or to keep mentally sharp. 

What’s interesting is that Gen Z’s gaming behaviours are completely different to the generations before them, which were previously dominated by console hardware and PC. 

According to SQ Magazine, 92% of Gen Z access games via mobile, showing a strong preference for iOS and Android gaming over any other type of platform. 

This doesn’t come as much of a shock when you consider that Gen Z is arguably the first true smartphone generation, along with the fact that almost all of the popular mobile games today are free-to-play.

Specifically, 96% of mobile game downloads are F2P titles across mobile, hitting 99% on the Google Play Store. 

Gen Z’s fascination with free-to-play games doesn’t stop at app stores, either, with millions of them having signed up with Stake.us, Chumba Casino, and many of the other “free-to-play” sweepstakes casinos seen in reviews on FreakyGaming. 

Outside of being hooked on mobile sandbox games like Roblox, modern Gen Z gamers are also playing inside sweepstakes casinos in huge numbers, a trend that’s kick-started following the recent rise of streamers like Adin Ross promoting them across streaming platforms like Kick and Twitch. 

These casinos offer prizes like gift cards and cash transfers, so it’s easy to see why they’ve become another Gen Z gaming trend. 

Epic Games Court Documents Showed Young Generations Are Engaging Less with Console and PC 

Back during the Epic Games versus Apple lawsuit from several years ago was when Gen Z’s evolving gaming behaviours first started to become apparent. 

Leaked court documents from the trial provided a never-before-seen peek into the gaming industry, and it was revealed that engagement in “big” gaming platforms like console and PC was majorly down. 

Those documents showed that engagement was up with young generations across mobile and free-to-play titles instead, which is still very much the case today but on an even larger scale. 

It was only in 2025 when Xbox Series sales hit ‘the worst on record’, while a report this month from IGN showed that PlayStation first-party game sales have declined over the past five years. 

There’s certainly a lot riding on the highly anticipated upcoming release of GTA 6, a game that is either going to make or break the struggling console market. 

Verdict

What’s clear to see at the moment is that Gen Z has shifted hard towards the mobile and free-to-play markets ever since COVID-19, and the fact that video game prices have skyrocketed while all of this has been going on means a return to traditional gaming for Gen Z is almost certainly off the cards. 

The future of gaming is going to be dominated by mobile games, F2P titles, and player-favorite sandboxes like Roblox, almost all of which don’t cost a penny and are allowing Gen Z to keep gaming in what are tough economic conditions. 

How the game publishers and the wider gaming industry will react to this remains to be seen, but it’s going to be a big ask to get Gen Z away from the mobile games they’re currently spending so many hours a week playing.