If you thought gaming was a young person’s activity, think again. Older adults now make up nearly one-third of all U.S. gamers, with 57 million Americans who are 50 or older playing regularly.
Half of those in their sixties and seventies play some form of PC, mobile, or console video game every week. Even people in their eighties—36%!—are gaming, according to recent data from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).
While it may be that older gamers simply have more free time, traditional pastimes like knitting and bridge are giving way to Twitch streams and first-person shooter games.
The Guardian spoke to gamers like GrndpaGaming and TacticalGramma, who stream titles such as Call of Duty, the hunting simulator theHunter: Call of the Wild, and the air-combat game Metalstorm to hundreds of thousands—and, in some cases, millions—of followers on Twitch and YouTube.
“As long as you keep your brain active and functioning, you’re not going to sit there and just deteriorate away,” Will, 72, who games as GrndpaGaming, told The Guardian.
Boomers and members of the so-called silent generation (the youngest of whom turn 80 in 2025) say their top reasons for gaming are to unwind, keep their minds sharp, and simply have fun. Some research suggests video games can offer cognitive benefits for older adults, though the effects often depend on the type of game.
There are social perks, too, especially on multiplayer platforms where boomer gamers are getting a crash course in Gen Z slang. “I’ve learned some things I don’t want to learn,” Michelle Statham, who streams as TacticalGramma, told The Guardian.
Gaming is becoming more popular across all age groups. According to ESA’s research, nearly two-thirds of Americans, from kids as young as 5 to adults who are 90 and older, regularly play video games—totaling around 205.1 million players.
The gender split among players is fairly even, with 47% identifying as women and 52% as men. But among older generations, women are more avid gamers: 52% of boomer women reportedly play video games, compared to 46% of boomer men.
When it comes to the gaming community, age really is just a number.
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