Not only are the kids alright, but they also seem to love playing computer games all the time. Generation Alpha, who are anyone born in or after 2010, may shed light on the future of gaming. The industry intelligence firm Newzo provided the Global Games Market Report, providing further context. As this group represents an increasing share of the player base, especially on PC, one question that should be asked: What kind of games are these individuals playing?
For lifelong fans of the media, this trend is fantastic news as they’re thrilled that a new generation is joining the community. While Gen Alpha isn’t playing the classic titles from years past, they’ve found enjoyment in massively popular platforms like Roblox. The reason that kids have flocked towards this title in the first place may be due to games with quirky titles like Steal a Brainrot, which encourages spending. Ultimately, older players who remember the early days of internet gaming on sites like Newgrounds may feel a bit of nostalgia.
Newzoo’s Director of Market Intelligence, Emmanuel Rosier, provided some fascinating insights into the habits of these young gamers. In a recent conversation, Rosier noted two key observations involving Gen Alpha’s love for gaming. First, the group doesn’t care if a computer can run a graphically intense game like Crysis, as they’re growing up on browser games, tablet games, phone games, and low-powered family PCs.
Contrary to popular belief, this generation was raised on Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox, which is why simply boasting about advanced features like ray tracing is meaningless. Second, any statement that these kids will leave these platforms behind as they get older isn’t rooted in fact. Rosier emphasized that these kids aging out of the Roblox ecosystem in large numbers isn’t a sure thing.
In fact, he recently noted that a major title like Battlefield 6 chose not to support ray tracing. The director clarified that the reason the technology wasn’t included had nothing to do with its availability. Instead, he believed that enabling it would exclude too many potential players. He further explained that young people who were born playing on mobile or tablet devices typically don’t care much about ultra-high-fidelity visuals.
Despite this particular insight, pushing graphics settings to their maximum and debating frame rates remains popular in the PC gaming culture. With Gen Alpha experiencing their games on a low-spec family computer or a handheld device like the Steam Deck, the landscape has been shown to have fundamentally changed for this new generation of players.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!