• Forty Percent of Gamers Have Met More People, Love Interests, and Friends Via Gaming than in Person
PubNub, the company behind the realtime communication platform, recently announced survey findings on chat functionality and its impact on gamers and their relationships. Five-hundred gamers were surveyed via a third-party survey platform and results indicated that 43 percent of gamers found love and/or friendship through the chat function while gaming, placing an importance on chat in a gamer’s life. In addition, 40 percent of gamers were able to meet more people, love interests, and friends via gaming than in person.
Of those surveyed, 60 percent of the gamers were female, and millennials made up the largest age demographic with 31 percent of respondents being ages 25-35. More than a third of the gamers surveyed indicated that a good chat functionality significantly affects the likelihood of them playing a game or not. Poor chat functionality can limit a gamer’s ability to form meaningful relationships, and, as the survey suggests, even discourages people from playing titles without good chat functionality. Additionally, noted in PubNub’s findings, almost a quarter of respondents say they would feel isolated and unable to make friends if it wasn’t for chat in gaming.
“Connected experiences are at the heart of changing people’s lives,” said Todd Greene, CEO and co-founder of PubNub. “Gamers have received a negative reputation for being isolated and lonely, but the advancement in chat functionality is changing the game, literally. We want people to experience life in realtime, whether it’s through crushing candy, winning battles or bringing home the Stanley Cup. We want them to experience realtime connections, relationships, friendships and communities.”
“I’ve been a gamer since 1996. I met my now boyfriend of five years via gaming chat on Quake Live. We now live together after I moved to Finland to be with him. The connection we have is strong, and if it wasn’t for the ability to chat through gaming we never would have met and formed the bond we now have,” said Monika Jurczyńska, 35, life-long gamer and graphic designer.
Additional results from PubNub’s survey, include:
- 8 percent found marriage or partnership via gaming chat.
- 36 percent found a lifelong friend, with more than 20 percent of those friendships lasting five years or more, and three percent lasting more than 20 years.
- 10 percent of respondents admitted to having an affair sparked by gaming chat.
- 67 percent of gamers have formed some type of relationship via gaming, which includes a casual friendship, hookup, or dating.
“Mayhem brings gamers together through live, community-driven events like tournaments and leagues. At the core of each community, realtime chat is crucial to setting up games and building relationships,” said Anhang Zhu, CTO at Mayhem. “PubNub’s chat solution and tools allows our gamers to discuss, debate, meme, encourage, and express their genuine selves with each other in a way that is fun for everyone.”
