Pandemic drives record gaming engagement and creative uses of video games
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, video games played a crucial role in fostering social connections. In March 2020, gaming expenditures in the US surged by 35% compared to the previous year (NPD Group), while Twitch experienced a 31% increase in viewership (StreamElements/Arsenal.gg), and Steam reached over 23 million concurrent users. Released on March 20, Animal Crossing: New Horizons achieved record-breaking digital sales in its first month and marked one of Nintendo's most successful launches in the US (NPD Group). The WHO initiated #PlayApartTogether to encourage gaming as a means of social interaction. However, challenges arose from project delays and hardware shortages linked to factory shutdowns in Asia. Games were utilized for virtual concerts, educational purposes, protests, and more.
Key facts
- US gaming spending up 35% in March 2020 vs. 2019 (NPD Group)
- Twitch viewership up 31% in March 2020 (StreamElements/Arsenal.gg)
- Steam surpassed 23 million concurrent users during pandemic
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold more digital copies in first month than any game in history (SuperData)
- WHO launched #PlayApartTogether to promote gaming for social distancing
- Travis Scott's Astronomical in Fortnite drew 12.3 million live viewers
- Nether Meant concert in Minecraft held April 12, 2020
- Block by Blockwest festival in Minecraft scheduled May 16, 2020 with Pussy Riot, Idles, Massive Attack
- Shing Yin Khor recreated art installations in Animal Crossing
- Ashmolean Museum and Getty Museum shared collection codes for Animal Crossing
- Hong Kong protesters used Animal Crossing; China blocked online sales
- Shanghai fire department used Animal Crossing for safety campaign
- Taiwan government created social distancing posters inspired by Animal Crossing
- NBA, NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One, MotoGP, Formula E, MLB held esports events
- LikeLike gallery moved online with LikeLike Online and The Online Museum of Multiplayer Art
Entities
Artists
- Travis Scott
- Marshmello
- American Football
- Anamanaguchi
- Baths
- Hana
- Pussy Riot
- Idles
- Massive Attack
- Soccer Mommy
- Jessica Kobeissi
- Shing Yin Khor
- Robert Smithson
- Barbara Kruger
- Christo
- Jeanne-Claude
- Anish Kapoor
- Chris Burden
- Marina Abramović
- Charles Coomber
- Emily Graslie
- Ryan Gott
- Paolo Pedercini
- Daniel Ahmad
Institutions
- NPD Group
- StreamElements
- Arsenal.gg
- Steam
- Nintendo
- SuperData
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Epic Games
- Mojang
- Microsoft
- Open Pit
- Nether Meant
- Block by Blockwest
- Club Penguin Rewritten
- SoraNews24
- The Verge
- YouTube
- Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts
- The Washington Post
- Ubisoft
- Media Molecule
- Roblox Corporation
- Ashmolean Museum
- Getty Museum
- International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF)
- Museum of English Rural Life
- Reuters
- Shanghai Fire Department
- Taiwan government
- iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations
- NBA
- NASCAR
- IndyCar
- Formula One
- Codemasters
- MotoGP
- Milestone
- Formula E
- rFactor 2
- The Race All-Star Esports Battle
- Major League Baseball (MLB)
- Sony
- Fox
- Sky
- NBC
- ESPN
- Serie A
- Kunos Simulazioni
- SRO E-Sport GT Series
- Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Field Museum
- Muséum d'Angers
- Skype
- LikeLike
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Artribune
- FISAR
- Scuola Internazionale di Comics di Firenze
- Gravure
Locations
- United States
- USA
- Asia
- Hong Kong
- China
- Shanghai
- Taiwan
- Oxford
- United Kingdom
- Los Angeles
- California
- Pittsburgh
- Pennsylvania
- Chicago
- Illinois
- Angers
- France
- Japan
- Italy