Post-COVID-19, ‘world on vacation’ from video games

It’s fairly fathomable—with COVID-19 restrictions gone, people would rather use their free time outdoors than stay stuck indoors playing video games.

Gaming companies are feeling the pinch.

Roblox has become the latest such company to report weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Aside from a shrinking number of daily active users—52.2 million, a million less than the StreetAccount consensus—gamers did not buy much of Roblox’s in-game currency, Robux—the firm’s main source of revenue.

Roblox shares fell north of 12% in after-hours trading.

Gaming slowdown
Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive among many more were on a roll during the pandemic lockdown. But come 2022, all have reported slowdowns compared to last year.

“The world is on vacation,” Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said last week.

Sony said players are spending 15% less time on their PlayStations compared to a year ago. And people are spending 13% less money on video games than they were a year ago, according to NPD Group and Sensor Tower.