65% of Gen Z gamers spend over three hours daily playing video games while 72% feel that they can truly express themselves online.

These figures and more come from a ZBD Gamer Study based on a survey of 2,000 Gen Z gamers in the US. The study also shows that 34% find online gaming too toxic while 57% prefer playing casual mobile games.

As far as in-game ads go, 43% believe that ads negatively impact their gaming experience while 50% don't mind having ads in free games. Meanwhile, a surprising 74% wouldn't mind ads if they were being paid some Bitcoin in exchange for their time.

Playtime and spending

With 65% already gaming for over three hours daily, ZBD's survey also reveals that 53% spend more than $20 monthly on games. Also, 54% have gaming subscriptions, comparable to music (65%) and video/movie subscriptions (71%).

Furthermore, 70% engage in side hustles for income, including social media content creation (29%), streaming (15%), and podcasting (7%) while 81% of Gen Z gamers have either played or expressed interest in playing a video game based entirely on a non-gaming brand, such as Nikeland in Roblox.

ZBD's chief strategy officer Ben Cousens says, “Gen Z is the first to grow up as digital-natives, meaning there are stark differences with any that came before. It’s imperative for games industry companies, consumer brands and advertisers to understand how to communicate and engage with the most technologically plugged-in generation in history, which demands authenticity and fairness above all.”

“Game developers need to understand Gen Z behaviours to enhance objectives within their game and ultimately what appeals to them,” said Corey Ellis-Johnson, a Gen Z marketing advisor to brands including Roblox and Dubit. “Understanding the behaviours can allow developers to get higher retention since it’s more suited towards Gen Z characteristics,” adds Corey.

You can access ZBD's full report here.