Study reveals 82 percent of players use gaming as way to relieve anxiety and stress

Michael Hassall Published October 28, 2025

I don’t know about you, but after a long day there’s literally nothing I prefer to do than sit down at my gaming chair and play some games. It elevates my mood and it takes my mind off the world around me. Turns out, I’m definitely not alone, and that the vast majority of gamers use games to alleviate their anxiety, stress, and even depression.

Livewire, a global gaming marketing company, released new research in partnership with PMCI Play (Publicis Media’s center of excellence for gaming) called the The Power in Play study. In it, after asking 2,400 gamers across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia about their gaming habits, it discovered 82% of those polled said gaming helped them “cope with stress, anxiety, or depression.”

Gaming as therapy: Over 80% of players use games to reduce anxiety

What’s more incredible is that that number rose to 92% among Gen Z. That’s some incredible coping mechanisms for gamers. Except don’t call them that. 64% of players reportedly do not strongly identify with the word “gamer,” preferring softer terms like “player” or “casual gamer.” This could have to do with the toxic culture around gaming and the term gamer used as a pejorative.

64% of players reportedly do not strongly identify with the word “gamer.” Image Credit: Livewire

This issue rose in women, as 44% of women strongly identify as gamers, yet only 22% are comfortable being labeled one.

“Gaming is no longer a subculture. It’s a cultural heartbeat,” said Samantha Lim, SVP, Head of Gaming at Publicis Media. “This research shows that people turn to games not just for entertainment, but for community, identity, and resilience. For brands, this means that showing up authentically in gaming spaces is not optional. It’s imperative.”

This abstract was further backed up by another finding in the study: Gamers (or players, beg our pardon), don’t give up gaming. Gaming is one of the last entertainment expenses consumers give up in financial hardship, outranking other categories such as film and live events. That means players will give up streaming services, going out, and even trips to the movie before you pry the controller out of their hands.

That’s also bad news for Microsoft, whose recent Xbox price hikes have made players do something that the data says shouldn’t happen. Also Read: Microsoft killed Game Pass: How did gaming’s greatest deal lose its appeal?

Livewire is a global gaming marketing firm uniting adtech, media, and brand strategy to connect brands with gamers at scale.

Publicis Media drives growth with data-led, digital-first media solutions across 100+ countries via leading agencies and platform tech.

Featured Image Credit: Livewire