In the midst of unprecedented challenges posed by the novel coronavirus, there has been a surge in gaming as people remain indoors. In addition, video streaming has increased by 12%. Furthermore, web traffic has gone up by 20% while social media usage remained flat.
"As we see more and more individuals work from home and students engage in online learning, it is a natural byproduct that we would see an increase in web traffic and access to VPN. And as more entertainment options are cancelled in communities across the U.S., an increase in video traffic and online gaming is not surprising," says Kyle Malady, chief technology officer for Verizon.
"People are staying indoors for sure, so by logical extension, they’re engaged in indoor activities to a greater extent than before," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said earlier this month, before self-isolation went into effect. "That suggests greater gaming activity. Share prices for game publishers have held up relatively well in the market malaise, so it appears that investors believe people are playing more."
According to a new report from StreamElements and Arsenal.gg, which evaluate usage in the live-streaming industry, global viewership has increased over the past week on multiple platforms. "Comparing the most recent weekend and Monday to the same timeframe the previous week, Twitch viewership increased 10 percent and YouTube Gaming went up by 15 percent, both of which reflect the popularity of the livestreaming medium now that people are consuming higher volumes of entertainment from home," says StreamElements CEO Doron Nir.
Have you been playing more video games as a result of the outbreak? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
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