You open your library and there are 200 unplayed games glaring at you. Last week you hovered over a $69.99 (€64) pre-order and closed the tab. I felt that same hesitation when IGN’s internal poll landed in my inbox.
My friends are skipping preorders — the data explains why
I’ll be blunt: I don’t buy full-price games the way I used to, and if you’re honest you probably don’t either. IGN’s survey of “thousands of highly-committed content consumers” — run with Kantar and UC Berkeley — found 62 percent say they no longer buy full-price games. That’s a cultural shift, not a blip.
Karl Stewart, SVP of IGN Global Marketing, framed the audience as serious entertainment consumers, not casual players. The people polled aren’t dabbling; they’re choosing where to spend scarce free hours. When time is the real currency, price sensitivity grows.
Do gamers still buy full-price games?
Short answer: some do, but not most. The IGN data confirms a pattern analysts at Circana report every month: the most-played titles are usually free-to-play staples — Fortnite, Roblox — with a few paid annuals like Call of Duty or NBA 2K26 breaking through. If you’re spending limited hours gaming, why front $69.99 (€64) on a title when free options dominate your friends’ lobbies?
Stores and free-to-play dominate my playtime — it’s obvious in monthly charts
My Steam friends are in constant rotation between free updates and seasonal events. That behavior shows up in usage data: free-to-play titles repeatedly top the charts, while premium releases get burst attention and then fall away.
The market now looks like a crowded buffet where free dishes outnumber the mains, and your appetite for a costly entrée has to be strong to make you pay. Publishers still chase prestige and revenue with $69.99 (€64) tags, but players are rationing purchases.
Why are new AAA games priced at $70 (€64)?
Production costs, marketing, live-service plans, and perceived value all factor in. But pricing is also a test: will enough players accept the premium to justify it? When 62 percent say no, that test starts failing more often. Some studios hedge with post-launch content and microtransactions; others rely on brand loyalty.
Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen X vote with their wallets — I see the split in my circle
A friend who’s a Gen Xer still buys singleplayer story games on day one; another, a Gen Zer, lives in multiplayer titles and rarely pays full price. The IGN survey quantifies that: 42 percent of Gen Z and 38 percent of millennials report buying games at full price, while only 20 percent of Gen X do the same.
Gen X prefers singleplayer, Gen Z prefers multiplayer, and millennials sit almost evenly split. That matters for developers and stores targeting promotions — and for you when you decide whether a new release deserves the full ticket.
Which generations pay full price most often?
Gen Z leads marginally, millennials follow, and Gen X trails. If you’re trying to predict where sales will land, watch who the core audience is: multiplayer-focused launches lean on younger spenders; narrative-first titles lean on older buyers who still value ownership.
I still love a well-crafted $69.99 (€64) singleplayer experience, but my buying rhythm has slowed — and mine is not the exception. Your backlog is not a shameful secret; it’s a symptom: a closet of games with tags still attached. Publishers face a choice: justify the price with must-play content or watch players keep waiting for discounts.
Do publishers drop prices, or will your backlog keep winning?