Study: players have lost interest in strategic thinking

The video game industry is changing, but this time the generation gap is more noticeable and tends to increase. Changes in consumer preferences and trends have led companies to change their focus and although there are different types of niches, it is a fact that they are going the most lucrative. This has a reason and is found in the players themselves. An example of this is a recent study that showed the decrease in interest in strategic thinking in gaming.

There are fewer players interested in titles that drive strategy in the last 9 years

One of the most notable complaints in previous generations of video gamers is that many titles have become accessible and easy, practically taking the player by the hand. At the same time, the increase in casual proposals or those that reward the user immediately have also received criticism. Well, this is not an idea that came out of nothing at a corporate meeting, since companies have access to an entire statistical section that shows the direction to take. Recently, Quantic Foundry, group specialized in video game scienceshared the results of an exercise in which 1.57 million players participated in a period that spanned from June 2015 to April 2024.

The study looked for the main motivations of the players and among them was the strategic thinking defined as “the appeal of long-term thinking, planning and careful decision making. Players who prefer longer time horizons for planning and making complex decisions with many underlying parameters to take into account.”

In this regard, data analysis reveals that From 2015 to 2024, interest in strategic thinking in video games decreased and 67% of gamers in 2024 have little attraction to games that drive strategy, planning and complex decision making compared to 9 years ago.

The loss of interest in complex video games precedes the Covid-19 pandemic

According to Quantic Foundry, one of the hypotheses was the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact it had on people, generating more stress than usual, which would have led them to avoid complex gaming experiences. However, the data reveals that the decline in interest in strategic thinking began years before the health crisis showing that players prefer immediate results and the notable decrease in obstacles to achieving them.

In this sense, the analysis considers changes in the short forms of consumption on social networks whose rise has taken place in recent years, which has led people to consume content in small and immediate parts. In video games, with their particularities, something similar would also be experienced, but in this case avoiding as much as possible that the player gets frustrated or has to “work” a lot to advance or achieve a goal.

What’s your opinion about it?

Tell us in the comments and follow here, at LEVEL UP.

Fountain

Editorial: gaming / Facebook / Twitter / Youtube / instagram / News / Discord /Telegram / Google news / msn / WhatsApp