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1 TURNING PLAYERS INTO PAYERS UNDERSTANDING THE GAMING PAYMENTS EXPERIENCE FOR U.S. GAMERS
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TURNING PLAYERS INTO PAYERSUNDERSTANDING THE GAMING PAYMENTS
EXPERIENCE FOR U.S. GAMERS
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Today’s global gaming market represents an almost $138 billion opportunity, and
by 2021, it is estimated that mobile gaming alone will be a $100 billion market. The
U.S. gaming market, the second largest after China, generated $25.1 billion in sales
in 2017. In 2018, it is estimated that 178.7 million players will spend $30.4 billion, a
$5 billion increase in just one year.
Recently, ACI Worldwide and Newzoo conducted a large-scale study on the
paying gamer and their payments behavior in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany,
broken up into age groups of 18-29 and 30-40. In this eGuide, we’ll focus on the
preferences of U.S. gamers, as well as the payments and fraud experiences of
this demographic. Through this report, you will build a better understanding of
American gamers’ motivations to pay, with insights into how you can provide a
frictionless customer experience.
INTRODUCTION
There are
2.4Bgamers
worldwide.
making the online gaming market worth
$137.9B
Approximately
178.7Mof them are
playing online games in the U.S.,
with
$30.4Bmade in the U.S.,
which makes the U.S. the world’s
2nd largestmarket.
The source for all the data referenced on this page is from “Newzoo 2018 Global Games Market Report” and ACI’s research, “Turn Players into Payers,” ACI and Newzoo, 2018.
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When it comes to gaming platforms, Americans love mobile gaming (95%), with PC
(87%) and console (85%) following closely behind. Considering the U.S. accounts for
252 million of the world’s active smartphone users, trailing only China and India, the
opportunity presented for game makers is both sizeable and growing.
Additionally, American gamers listed PayPal as their preferred payments method
across all three gaming platforms.
AMERICAN GAMERS PREFER MOBILE
SHARE OF GAMERS PER PLATFORM
INSIGHT
Mobile has already surpassed more traditional gaming platforms in popularity, proving the power of this market. Publishers must focus on the mobile experience to capture the opportunities found within this rising platform.
95%
Mobile PC Console Mobile PC Console Mobile PC Console
87% 85%94%
85% 85%91% 88%
75%
MOST POPULAR GAMING DEVICES IN AMERICA
Gamers are omni-channel when it comes to
playing on devices, but Android devices are
by far the most popular for mobile gaming.
Share of American gamers who own and use Android for gaming
PCs are far more popular for gaming compared to Macs
PlayStation 4 (PS4), including Slim and Pro, usage in Germany lags behind that of the U.S. and U.K.
Share of American gamers who own and use a PC for gaming
Share of American gamers who own and use a PS4 for gaming (35% Germany, 45% U.K.)
49%
55%
43%
The source for all the data referenced on this page is from, “Newzoo 2018 Global Mobile Games Market Report” and ACI’s research, “Turn Players into Payers,” ACI and Newzoo, 2018.
U.S. U.K. Germany
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EXPLORING THE GAMING GENDER PAY GAP
Across all three gaming platforms, men are more likely to pay for their games versus women.
This gulf is especially pronounced for consoles and PCs, while mobile features only a 7% spread
between paying men and women.
Interestingly, mobile features the lowest percentage of gamers, men or women, who spend
money on that platform.
GENDER COMPARISON OF AMERICAN GAMERS WHO PAY PER PLATFORM
Console PC Mobile
Men Women Men Women Men Women
76%
60%70%
54%63%
56%
PERCENTAGE OF GAMERS SPENDING AT LEAST $5/MONTH ON RELEVANT
PLATFORMS IN THE U.S.
63%
46%
65%of American
paying gamers are male
5%
15%
15%
11% 30%
24%
Men18-25
Women18-25
Men26-35
Women26-35
Men36-40
Women36-40
BREAKING DOWN AGE/GENDER AND KEY
FACTS OF GAMERS WHO SPEND
From page 4 to the end of this guide, the source for all the data referenced in this document is from ACI’s research, “ACI and Newzoo Turn Players into Paypers”. 2018
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COMPLETE PROFILE OF PAYING GAMERS
BREAKING DOWN AGE/GENDER AND KEY FACTS OF GAMERS WHO SPEND ON A GAME
76% of American men who play console games spend money on them. Older millennials (30-
40) spend slightly more money on a platform than their younger age group (18-29). compete in tournaments against other gamers vs. 5% of non-payers
have gambled for real money in the past six months vs. 12% of non-payers
are more likely to keep playing a game if it offers loyalty/reward programs vs. 61% of non-payers
25%
36%
73%
KEY FACTS ON AMERICAN PAYING GAMERS
Console PC Mobile
18-29 30-40 18-29 30-40 18-29 30-40
72% 73% 71% 70%
55% 58%
SHARE OF PLAYERS THAT ARE AVERAGE/BIG SPENDERS*
*Average/big spenders spend at least $5 per month on their relevant platform
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SPEND PER PLATFORM
SHARE OF PLAYERS WHO WILL SPEND ON A GIVEN PLATFORM
The player/payer ratio for America stands
at 78%, leading both the U.K. (77%) and
Germany (70%). The U.S. also has the highest
share of big and average spenders (spend at
least $5/month) on every platform, with 34%
of American gamers falling into this category
(21% U.K., 20% Germany).
INSIGHT
Though consoles are not American gamers’ favorite gaming platform, it’s also the platform with the highest percentage of payers. This serves as an important reminder that even as mobile gains in popularity, console games offer the largest percentage of paying players.
SHARE OF PAYING GAMERS PER PLATFORM
60%
Mobile PC Console Mobile PC Console Mobile PC Console
64%70%
49%59%
67%
43%
55%63%
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MOTIVATIONS FOR SPENDING
UNDERSTANDING WHAT DRIVES PURCHASE
What’s motivating gamers to spend?
Enjoyment. 39% of paying gamers say that
more enjoyment of a game is one of their
main motivators for spending money. When
looking at demographics, women are likely
to be influenced by rewards and loyalty
programs (23% list this as a motivating
factor).
Another large motivator is the idea of
gamers giving themselves a gift, which can
be in the form of prepaid cards, gift cards or
in-game content.
FACTORS THAT MAKE PAYERS WANT TO
SPEND IN GAME
Support for developer20%
39%Enjoy myself more with the game
27%Give myself a gift
27%Gift card/voucher
19%Reward/loyalty program
16%Fear of missing out
16%Impatience
14%Keep up with friends
13%Beat competition
10%Watch game online/in person
9%Frustration
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WHAT ARE GAMERS BUYING?
GAME-RELATED PURCHASES MADE BY GAMERS
Of those gamers who spend throughout
the U.S., U.K. and Germany, most purchase
downloaded/digital games, followed by in-
game purchases.
Share of paying mobile American gamers that spend on in-game purchases
78%
62%
Downloaded/digital games
In-gamepurchases
Boxed/discgames
Subscription
51%46%
29%
WHERE PC/CONSOLE PAYERS SPEND
THEIR BUDGET
POPULAR IN-GAME PURCHASES
WHAT PAYERS WHO MAKE IN-GAME PURCHASES ARE SPENDING ON
For American men, DLC/expansion packs (49%) and power-ups (45%) were their preferred in-
game purchases. American women overwhelmingly chose power-ups as their favorite in-game
purchase (53%), with cosmetic/skins coming in a distant second with just 35%.
WOMEN MEN WOMEN MEN WOMEN MEN
Power-ups 53% 45% 47% 39% 46% 38%
DLC/expansion packs
30% 49% 36% 44% 29% 50%
Playable characters
33% 39% 35% 33% 41% 44%
Cosmetic/skins 35% 36% 27% 24% 23% 28%
Loot boxes 28% 32% 19% 28% 17% 26%
Time-savers 34% 28% 26% 25% 20% 17%
Share of paying PC/console gamers aged 30-40 who will buy boxed/disc games, an 8% increase over gamers aged 18-29
51%
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SATISFACTION LIMITS SPENDING
REASONS GAMERS WON’T SPEND ON A GAME
Gamers throughout the three countries
listed enjoyment as the number one reason
they would spend on a game, so it stands to
reason that one of the biggest inhibitors in
spending for 40% of the gaming audience is
satisfaction within the free experience.
REASONS NOT TO SPEND MONEY ON A GAME
Paying gamers vs. non-paying gamers
Paying gamers Non-paying gamers
of American non-payers do not spend because they’re satisfied with the free experience
38%
Don’t have enough spare money
35%
27%
47%
33%
Want to spend my money on other things
21%
32%
Need to pay too often to progress(feels like pay to play)
40%
28%
Satisfied with the free gaming experience
12%
17%
Feel like it’s cheating
19%
16%
Don’t think it will make the gaming experience more fun
*Gamers surveyed in the U.S., U.K., and Germany.
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TRUST IS A PAYMENTS DRIVER
REASONS PLAYERS CHOOSE ONLINE PAYMENT METHODS
In all three countries surveyed, trust was listed as the main driver in
selecting a payments method. American gamers led the way, with
39% citing trust as the reason for choosing their preferred payments
method.
Quick service was the second most cited reason for choosing a
payments method, outpacing both seamlessness and never having
had a bad experience with a particular payments method.
INSIGHT
Like most eCommerce platforms, trust is essential in driving conversion. Game makers must offer payment methods gamers believe will keep them safe from fraudsters. In fact, they seem to be willing to sacrifice a bit of speed and seamlessness to ensure their payments are secure.
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THE PAYMENTS EXPERIENCE
TRUST DRIVES SPENDING
For American gamers, one of the main
reasons they select a certain payments
method is trust. This helps to explain why
PayPal and Mastercard are the most used
and preferred payment methods across all
three gaming platforms.
Contrasting this, however, is Americans’
attitudes towards cryptocurrencies.
American gamers are most likely to
have a positive attitude (25%) of crypto
compared to gamers in the U.K. (16%) and
Germany (18%).
GAMERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS PAYMENT TYPES
PayPal Prepaid Cards/Gift Cards
Mastercard Visa Checkout Google Pay Apple Pay
83% 80%70% 73%
53%
66%
53%63%
46%51%
41% 45%
SHARE OF GAMERS WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD CERTAIN PAYMENT TYPES
18-29 30-40
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USAGE OF PAYMENT METHODS
PAYMENT PREFERENCES AMONG PAYING GAMERS
Across all gaming devices, PayPal is king when it comes to preferred payment methods.
Mastercard was the second most used payments method per gaming device, though younger
players are less likely to use Mastercard than older players.
When it comes to their preferred platform for paying for games, mobile was the top choice of
American paying gamers with 32%.
Console Mobile
70%
PayPal Mastercard Prepaid cards/
gift cards
PayPal Mastercard Prepaid cards/
gift cards
11% 10%
71%
10% 7%
PC
PayPal Mastercard Prepaid cards/
gift cards
76%
12% 11%
MOST USED PAYMENTS METHOD PER GAMING DEVICE
FAVORITE WAYS TO PAY FOR GAMERS
American gamers in the age ranges of 18-29
(77%) and 30-40 (80%) both list PayPal as
the payments method they feel most positive
about. This far outpaced both Google Pay
and Apple Pay, showing the importance of
offering established payment methods.
Share of American gamers who hold a positive attitude towards cryptocurrency
25%
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GAMERS’ DESIRED PAYMENTS EXPERIENCE
Throughout the world, payments fraud is a top concern for gamers and continues to act as a
barrier to payment. Considering its popularity as a payments method, gamers overwhelmingly
said they have had a negative experience using PayPal.
Looking beyond PayPal, American gamers are more likely to have had a bad experience with
Apple Pay and Mastercard than gamers in the U.K. and Germany.
of American gamers have had a negative experience when paying online
40%
PayPal
21% 22%
17%
Apple Pay
10%
7% 7%
Mastercard
10%
4%7%
Google Pay
7% 7%10%
Prepaid cards/gift cards
7%4% 5%
Phone carrierbilling
6% 1%
9%
VisaCheckout
6% 7%
3%
PAYMENT METHODS WHERE GAMERS SAY THEY HAVE HAD A NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE
U.S. U.K. Germany
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BAD PAYMENT EXPERIENCES
KEY PROBLEMS WITH GAMING PAYMENTS
For American gamers, high transaction fees, fraud and a slow payments process were the
top three pain points when it came to negative payment experiences. Given its popularity
as a payments method, it’s no surprise that PayPal had the most instances of fraud across
the four most popular payment methods.
Share of American gamers who have experienced fraud while paying for games
20%
Share of paying gamers who purchase, sell or trade in-game items outside of the game. One-third of these have experienced fraud while doing this.
56%
BIGGEST PAYMENTS EXPERIENCE FAILURES PER COUNTRY
U.S. U.K. Germany
High transactionfees
31%
22%26%
Payments fraud-related experience
30%27% 28%
Slow paymentsprocess
30%32%
23%
Confusing paymentsprocess
26%24%
28%
Failed payment dueto fault with the
payments provider
25%23%
26%
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IMPROVEMENTS PLAYERS WANT
PAYMENTS EXPERIENCE GAP IN GAMING
Loyalty and reward programs were rated highest, followed by simplified payment processes.
Both age demographics seem to view security measures as a necessary part of the gaming
payments experience, though gamers 30-40 were more inclined to skip these measures.
Share of American gamers who want to be offered loyalty/reward programs for in-game payments
24%
Loyalty/rewardprogram for in-game
payments
Simplify the payments process
Make the paymentsprocess quicker
More paymentoptions available
Register paymentdetails in advance
Skip security measures after
completing them once
24.5% 24%21%
19% 18% 17% 18%
14%
9%
15%
6%
10%
THE IMPROVEMENTS PLAYERS WANT TO SEE IN THEIR ONLINE PAYMENTS EXPERIENCE
18-29 30-40
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SECURITY WANTED
ATTITUDES TOWARDS IN-GAME PAYMENT SECURITY MEASURES
A whopping 44% of American payers agreed
that additional security measures make them
less likely to make in-game purchases. This
seemingly stands in contrast with Americans’
desire for trust in their payment methods,
forcing game makers to deliver security that
builds trust without impacting the gaming
experience.
44% 36% 19%
ENCOUNTERING ADDITIONAL SECURITY
MEASURES WHEN MAKING IN-GAME PURCHASES
SLOWS DOWN AND NEGATIVELY IMPACTS MY
GAMING EXPERIENCE AND MAKES ME LESS LIKELY TO
COMPLETE IN-GAME PURCHASES OR MAKE FUTURE
IN-GAME PURCHASES.”
SHARE OF PAYERS WHO AGREE WITH THE
FOLLOWING STATEMENT:
17
IN CONCLUSION
MOBILE IS THE MOST PLAYED Over the last few years mobile became
powerful enough to handle experiences
that were previously only possible on PC or
console — all while remaining small enough
to fit in the pockets of gamers. 95% of U.S.
gamers are playing mobile titles, and looking
at hours spent, U.S. gamers also spend the
most time on mobile, with 33% of mobile
gamers playing for more than six hours a
week (versus 21% in the U.K. and 20% in
Germany).
PREFERRED PAYMENTS METHOD PayPal is the most used and preferred payments
method on every segment — console, PC and
mobile. Mastercard is the second most common
choice. New payment players such as Google
and Apple Pay will find it hard to unseat the
incumbents, though younger players are using
them more than older players. American gamers
are most likely to have a positive attitude (25%),
skewing the number upward. Interestingly, the most
preferred payments method is also the payments
method where gamers say they have had a
negative experience. American gamers are more
likely to have a bad experience with Apple Pay.
KEY FINDINGS
AMERICAN CONSOLE GAMERS MOST
LIKELY TO SPEND MONEY 76% of American men who play console games
spend money on them. With 70% of all console
players paying for console games, console has the
highest ratio of payers to players compared to the
other gaming platforms. Older millennials (30-40)
spend slightly more money on a platform than
their younger age group (18-29).
TRUST AND SECURITY ARE THE
MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS FOR
CONSUMERS For one-third of paying gamers, worrying about
fraud makes them less likely to spend within a
game and 19% of them have experienced fraud
when paying for games online. This highlights
the fact that trust and security are still an
extremely important factor for consumers.
Gaming companies must ensure the right levels
of protection are in place to build consumer trust,
underpin a smooth payments experience and
safeguard brand reputation.
THE OMNI-GAMER: GAMERS PLAY
GAMES ON ALL THREE PLATFORMS Modern gamers are not exclusively loyal
to one gaming platform. More than 70% of
gamers in the U.S. are playing games on
mobile, console and PC. Many publishers
are catering to this trend by releasing and
optimizing titles for each platform.
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IN CONCLUSION
WHAT TURNS PLAYERS INTO PAYERS?
24% of paying gamers in the U.S., Germany and the U.K. who believe the payments
experience can be improved would like to see loyalty/reward programs offered for
in-game payments. Additionally, gamers of all ages said the number one way the
paying experience can be improved would be to add these programs. Younger
payers consider simplifying the payments process and making more payment
options available to be more important than the older age group. A much higher
share of older payers than younger payers would like the option to register their
payment details in advance and to skip security measures after completing them
once.
Concerns about fraud are still a payments barrier. 20% of paying gamers in the
U.S. have experienced fraud when paying for games online. For one-third of payers,
worrying about fraud makes them less likely to spend within a game. This highlights
the fact that trust and security are still an extremely important factor for consumers.
Gaming companies must ensure the right levels of protection are in place to build
consumer trust.
IMPROVEMENTS PLAYERS WANT TO SEE
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ACI Worldwide®, the Universal
Payments® (UP®) company, powers
electronic payments for more
than 5,100 organizations around
the world. More than 1,000 of the
largest financial institutions and
intermediaries, as well as thousands
of global merchants, rely on ACI®
to execute $14 trillion each day in
payments and securities. In addition,
myriad organizations utilize our
electronic bill presentment and
payment services. Through our
comprehensive suite of software
solutions delivered on customers’
premises or through ACI’s private
cloud, we provide real-time,
immediate payments capabilities and
enable the industry’s most complete
omni-channel payments experience.
Americas +1 402 390 7600 Asia Pacific +65 6334 4843 Europe, Middle East, Africa +44 (0) 1923 816393
© Copyright ACI Worldwide, Inc. 2018 ACI, ACI Worldwide, ACI Payment Systems, the ACI logo, ACI Universal Payments, UP, the UP logo, ReD, PAY.ON and all ACI product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACI Worldwide, Inc., or one of its subsidiaries, in the United States, other countries or both. Other parties’ trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.
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