Most Players Prefer Single-Player Games, New Study Claims

For the last few years, the video game industry has seemed obsessed with building always-online live-service multiplayer experiences. And many of those live games, like Concord, have failed to find much success. Now a new survey reveals that might be because most folks prefer playing single-player games.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, a new survey from Midia Research suggests that 53 percent of people who play video games prefer playing by themselves and don’t want to play online PvP or co-op modes. According to Midia, in 2023 and 2024 the survey asked a range of players from the U.S., Australia, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Poland, Brazil, South Africa, and Turkey about their various video game preferences. And yeah, it turns out most people like playing single-player games. However, digging into the data reveals some more interesting findings.

For example, it seems that the older you are, the more likely you are to avoid online games and stick to single-player adventures. 74 percent of gamers over the age of 55 told Midia that they preferred single-player games over co-op or online PvP. In fact, the younger you are, the more likely you are to want to play with other people. Only 30 percent of players under the age of 19 prefer playing solo.

Another interesting data point: 58 percent of mobile gamers prefer single-player titles. That one surprised me! A ton of mobile games feature multiplayer gameplay and online social connections. But it seems a lot of people just want to chill and play Balatro on their phone while waiting for the bus or listening to a podcast.

Midia says that younger players were more likely to be able to get friends together regularly to play various live-service games, while people 25 and older had busier lives that interfered with multiplayer gaming. Midia also says that younger gamers like to take “vacations” from games like Fortnite and Apex Legends, and suggests that publishers and devs should try to release new single-player games toward the end of live-service seasons, when players are more likely to be looking for a break.

Of course, while this data shows that single-player is still a very popular type of video game, I doubt publishers will stop pushing for live-service hits. The reality is that single-player games are still expensive to make and take years to develop, just like live-service titles. But if a live-service game can build a large audience, you could spend years supporting it and making a lot of money while not having to make another big single-player experience. And even though history is littered with dying or dead live-service games and data shows players like playing single-player “one and done” adventures, the promise of more money is likely too alluring for most publishers in 2024.

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