The Undeniable Benefits of Playing Video Games during Covid-19 Lockdown

2020, One of the most challenging years in the history of Mankind. A virus that emerged suddenly and soon it took over the entire globe. In this day and age, where technology is advancing rapidly, a very tiny virus that one cannot even see from a naked eye turned into a horrific nightmare and took the shape of one of the most dangerous pandemics in World History.

The Covid-19 pandemic storm into the globe and hit every single business sector, particularly the service area. From restaurants, tourism to schools, every service business came to a standstill.

The pandemic compelled the countries to enforce lockdown worldwide, resulting in a massive increase in salary cuts, unemployment, and frustration. However, the business managed to run operations at a slower pace. Thanks to the online work from a home facility that made the business running in.

In those times of massive lockdown when parents, kids, the entire family were confined to their homes, the people started to look for activities to pass their time well.

The more entertaining activity, the better way to pass the time at the comfort of the homes. This is where video games role came into play that proved a blessing in disguise for both the hardcore and casual gamers. 

Parents and young people got ample time to play their favorite video games for long hours. The European Gaming Industry body ISFE researched video games’ role during the lockdown and found some interesting facts and figures. Let’s take a look at the key findings:

• Weekly, the playtime increased by 1.5% compared to the year 2019. The age group was 6 to 64 years.
• 14% of players discovered new video games during the lockdown.
• Playing video games during lockdown also helped strengthen the bond between the parents and the kids as, according to the report, 1 in 5 parents are playing more video games with their children.
• The research also depicted positive changes in the mental health of video gamers due to gaming activity. Out of 10, every 3^rd player feels that video games have made him/her happier and less anxious during the lockdown.
• Adding more on the mental health positive results, the proportion of multiplayer online games takes the lead. The gamers who played multiplayer online games felt less isolated compared to those who played single-player games.

The results are even not different in the US. According to a recent report, $56.9 billion were spent on video games during the lockdown. This is a whopping 27% increase compared to the year 2019.

In terms of popular video games, Fortnite and PUBG Mobile were one most popular games during the lockdown. The game downloads reach to skies during the hard lockdown times. At the same time, PUBG got immense playtime in the Asia region, particularly in India and Pakistan.

Kudos to the game developers who worked day and night in these challenging times to provide a fast and smooth gaming experience to players worldwide.

This contributed to the gaming industry workforce’s economy. The games medium has indirectly provided a blessing in disguise and contributed to gamers’ well-being by giving them long hours of fun and comfortable time. Results are before us, less isolated feeling and happy gamers.