Strategy or casual games? What Switzerland plays online
According to the latest figures from the NET-Metrix-Base 2017-2 study, about one-third of the more than 6.7 million Internet users in Switzerland and Liechtenstein play online games.
The popularity of internet games continues unabated: Over 2.1 million internet users aged 14 and over play games online in Switzerland.
An activity across all generations
Of digital natives (aged 14 to 29), 41.5% play online, compared to just 25.6% of over-50s. However, this age group plays particularly intensively: 58.6% of online gamers aged 50 and over play online at least once a week, compared to 50.2% of younger gamers.
Strategy games and casual games most popular
Online games are equally popular with men and women. However, men prefer strategy games (51%), while women tend to play casual games (47.5%).
Strategy games and casual games are also the most popular game categories overall: They are played by 981,000 and 907,000 people respectively. They are followed by role-playing, adventure and fantasy games (391,000 players), closely followed by action, shooter and fighting games (352,000 people) and sports, simulation and racing games (316,000 people).
Short playing times and smartphone preferred
Among internet users who play online, only 22.2% spend more than an hour without interruption. Most online gamers play for less than 30 minutes without interruption (45.3%).
The most common way to play online is with a smartphone. 44.4% of players use it. The desktop computer or tablet is used by 33.2% and 32.6% of gamers respectively. It is striking that only 1.2% of online gamers use a games console for online games.
Paid online games remain a niche market
The majority of online gamers in Switzerland play free games online: Only 10.2 percent play paid online games today. The expenses mainly relate to one-off payments and license fees (67%).
