Ever wonder if your game purchasing habits are the norm? A fascinating new report from research firm Circana reveals that most American gamers are quite selective. A staggering 63% of US players buy a maximum of two video games annually, and an even more surprising one-third of the market doesn’t purchase a single new title in a given year.
Mat Piscatella, a senior director at Circana, highlighted these insights from the company’s Q3 2025 Future of Games report. He noted that a small segment of “hyper enthusiast, price-insensitive players” are largely responsible for driving sales in the non-free-to-play gaming sector. In fact, only 4% of US players purchase more than one game per month, while 10% opt for one new title monthly, and 22% acquire a game every three months.
This data supports a long-held theory: many gamers stick to perennial blockbusters like Call of Duty or Madden, which consistently dominate sales charts. The rise of popular free-to-play games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone may have further solidified this trend, allowing players to enjoy extensive gaming experiences without constant new purchases.
Despite this trend of limited game purchases, the overall US video game market saw a boost in 2025, largely thanks to the impressive launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. However, a separate report from July by Circana indicated a concerning trend: young Americans aged 18-24 significantly reduced their video game spending earlier in the year.
This insight into consumer behavior paints a clear picture of a diverse gaming landscape, where a dedicated core drives much of the premium game sales, while the broader audience engages more sparingly, often with evergreen titles or free-to-play options.