A new survey from the Entertainment Software Association has found that American gamers are largely voters.

This year’s Essential Facts pamphlet from the ESA once again provided a general state of the industry audience in the US, through data obtained via an Ipsos Connect survey of roughly 4,000 households.

A platform breakdown found that 60 per cent of adult gamers are playing on their phones. 52 per cent are gaming on their PCs, with 49 per cent playing on console.

Casual games are the most popular genre at 71 per cent of all games played, followed by action games and shooters at 53 and 47 per cent respectively.

Political leaning

New for this year’s survey were questions based on the education and political activity of game players. 52 per cent of responders were college educated, for example, while 59 per cent intend to vote in the next presidential election.

37 per cent of gamers self-described as Democrats, 33 per cent as Republican, and 30 per cent described themselves as Independent or Other.

Elsewhere, this year’s survey showed that the average age of gamers has dropped from 34 to 33, while the percentage of female gamers has increased from 45 to 46 per cent year-over-year.

Top rated

The survey also dives into the ESA's rating board, the ESRB. The number of games rated by the board lept from 1,948 to 2,768 games.

Games rated E for Everyone are the most popular on consoles, accounting for 42 per cent of all games sold. Mature games fell to nine per cent, down from 13. Mobile and PC data is not provided.

“This is the golden age of video games," said acting President and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis. "They are the leading form of entertainment in American culture.

"Americans play video games to have fun, relieve stress, learn, and spend time with family. This innovative form of entertainment touches on every part of society and improves how we play, work, and live.”