Video games were first created back in the 1950s and have been popular ever since to those who want a break from reality to relax. Since Covid-19, there has been a major spike in the popularity of video games. During the first 4 months of quarantine, there was a 46% increase of people playing video games. 

One might ask why people are playing and enjoying video games more than ever before? The reason behind this occurrence is that people were forced to perform indoor activities more often as they were not able to go outside and perform outdoor activities. Because of this, the sales of video games have dramatically increased. According to TechRepublic, during the first half of 2020, when compared to the first half of 2019, console sales have gone up by 36.54%. Some examples of consoles being bought more include the Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo Switch. The gaming industry as a whole is projected to make 159.3 billion dollars which would be a 9.3% increase from last year.

There has also been a surge in watch time in streaming services such as Twitch, Mixer, and Youtube. According to Hollywood Reporter, for the first time since Twitch was released back in 2012, they topped three billion hours of watch time from January to March of 2020. 

Recently, party games among the gaming community have been trending. In August and early September, Fall Guys was the most popular party game watched on Twitch. In the middle of September and October, it switched to Among Us, which still ranks as the most-watched party game. Junior Christopher Bonilla believes the reason why party games are becoming so popular right now is since “the games that were played at the beginning of quarantine are not as interesting and exciting anymore, and video games with friends are more entertaining” than with random people online.

Ultimately, video games have increased in popularity since quarantine began and still are increasing even to this day. This popularity will most likely keep expanding until the pandemic is finished to help people use their spare time to cope with this sudden change.