Survey: RPG play up 37% since pandemic, interest in D&D up 85%

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

From Dicebreaker:

In a survey conducted by Merchoid – which involved 1,479 “entertainment fans” - it was discovered that 37% of the people who responded to the study were spending more time on playing tabletop games since before the lockdown period.

The survey found that 76% of the respondents believed that “in-person interaction” was “essential” to their enjoyment, alongside the almost 40% of respondents who are playing more tabletop games. As well as tabletop games in general, attention towards tabletop roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons has increased, with the survey identifying that interest has increased by 85% since 2020 and revenue for D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast growing by 46.1%.

I'm not sure about this methodology, and nearly 40% of people saying in-person gaming is essential feels like it's in conflict with that we know about the growth of playing over Discord, etc.

Still, interesting.

 

[Parmandur]

From Dicebreaker:


I'm not sure about this methodology, and nearly 40% of people saying in-person gaming feels like it's in conflict with that we know about the growth of playing over Discord, etc.

Still, interesting.

I mean, playing increasing in Discord can happen at the same time as other people begin feeling strongly about in person play as the pandemic recedes. Different parts of the population.

 

[bedir than]

I played online quite a bit during the height of pandemic restrictions. That didn't mean I didn't think in-person play was essential for my health

 

[bedir than]

From Dicebreaker:


I'm not sure about this methodology, and nearly 40% of people saying in-person gaming is essential feels like it's in conflict with that we know about the growth of playing over Discord, etc.

Still, interesting.

This chart from Merchoid interests me, the D&D movie nerd quite a bit

 

[CleverNickName]

The pandemic was horrible, and nobody wants to repeat it, but it taught us a lot of things. One thing that we all learned is that accessibility is important, and it had been neglected for far too long. Working from home, attending meetings from our laptops, even buying groceries online went from being fringe to mainstream practically overnight...and it was really obvious which companies had put the thought and effort into becoming more accessible, and which ones hadn't (and worse, wouldn't even try).

I feel like tabletop RPGs were more ready than most, and so they benefitted from one of the highest growth rates of any other media. I don't see them going backwards now.

 

[schneeland]

I mean, playing increasing in Discord can happen at the same time as other people begin feeling strongly about in person play as the pandemic recedes. Different parts of the population.

First this, and then, even as someone who plays exclusively online for the past 5 years, interaction with people still remains an important part of my enjoyment, at least for the regular groups. It just happens mostly over the Internet now (was great to also meet some of the players in person at few month back, though).

 

[Ath-kethin]

From Dicebreaker:


I'm not sure about this methodology, and nearly 40% of people saying in-person gaming is essential feels like it's in conflict with that we know about the growth of playing over Discord, etc.

Still, interesting.

My friend plays almost all his games over Discord. He firmly insists, however, that when possible in-person is the only way to go.

Personally, I've only ever played one game session online. In person or bust.

 

[Abstruse]

UK-based pop culture retailer Merchoid surveyed 1,479 customers about their entertainment choices and in particular tabletop gaming.

According to the survey, 36.5% of respondents are playing more board games or tabletop games now than before the pandemic-related lockdown with 25.5% saying they were playing “a little more” and 11% saying “a lot more”. Also, 75.9% of participants in the survey said that the in-person element of board games and tabletop games is important to them, while only 24.1% said it was not important.

The post also documents the rising interest in tabletop gaming from other sources, including an 85% increase in interest in Dungeons & Dragons according to Google search data since 2020 and a 49% increase in Warhammer.

This growth contrasts with a plateau in other entertainment sources such as streaming movie and television platforms like Netflix and Disney+ and a theatrical box office that is still down 33% from pre-pandemic levels. This increase in interest in tabletop gaming also translates to revenue for the two largest companies with Wizards of the Coast showing 46.1% revenue increase from 2020 to 2022 while Games Workshop showed a revenue increase of 53.8%.

 

[darjr]

I hope that sustains, and increases.

 

[TwiceBorn2]

Curious that the responses in the first chart add up to a little over 52%. What about the other +/- 48%? Were there other response choices to the question, or did they not reply at all?