One of the industry’s largest market research firms, Circana (formerly NPD Group), has revealed a major drop in gaming expenditures among Americans aged 18 to 24.

According to a new report from Circana, the average weekly spending on games by Americans in the 18-24 age bracket has dropped significantly year-over-year. As The Wall Street Journal reported, spending in this group has fallen by nearly 25%. In comparison, other age groups have experienced much smaller decreases, highlighting the financial pressure facing young adults.

Overall, Circana says that online and in-store purchases by this demographic dropped by 13% between January of last year and April 2025. Spending among older age groups is still growing, though at a slower pace.

Circana points to several contributing factors: a challenging job market, student loan repayments, and mounting credit card debt. According to Bank of America, spending by this age group is declining modestly instead of growing, which historically has been the norm.

Notably, Circana‘s latest data—based on the final four weeks ending in April—shows that spending on video games is declining faster than in other categories and even faster than the general tech sector.

This trend emerges just as hardware and software costs are climbing across the industry. Xbox recently raised prices for its entire console lineup, and upcoming titles are now priced at $80. The first game to debut at this price will be The Outer Worlds 2.

Nintendo has also priced Mario Kart World, one of the Switch 2‘s launch games, at $80, while its next major title for the platform, Donkey Kong Bananza, will cost $70.

The only question that remains is: when will the industry realize that one of its most important age groups may be turning away from gaming—simply because they can’t afford it?

Source: Gamesindustry, WSJ