Video games spending by young Americans is dropping sharply, report suggests

A new Circana report (via the Wall Street Journal) shows Americans aged 18–24 are slashing their video-game spending by nearly 25% year-over-year, with average weekly outlays much lower than a year ago. Overall retail spending for that group dipped 13% between January and April 2025—while older gamers barely budged—thanks to job-market woes, student-loan payments and mounting credit-card debt. Notably, gaming expenses are falling faster than tech spending in general.

That belt-tightening comes just as the cost of playing keeps climbing: Xbox has bumped its Series X|S consoles to $600 and upcoming first-party titles (like The Outer Worlds 2) to $80, and Nintendo’s Switch 2 launch games (Mario Kart World) are also hitting the $80 mark, with Donkey Kong Bananza tagged at $70.```