The gaming industry is seeing massive growth during lockdowns. According to the NPD Group’s Q2 2020 Games Market Dynamics report, in Q2, consumers spent a record $11.6 billion on video gaming in the US—a 30 percent increase year-over-year, and a 7 percent increase from Q1’s record $10.9 billion.

Video game sales during Q2 reached $10.2 billion, a 28 percent increase YoY fueled by gains across physical content, digital console and PC content, mobile and subscription spending, as per NPD Group.

Hardware category sales saw a whopping 57 percent increase to $848 million due to strong growth across Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Sales on video game accessories like gamepads, headsets and steering wheels ballooned in the same way, increasing 50 percent to $584 million.

The NPD Group says top Q2 titles included Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Candy Crush Saga and NBA 2K20, to name a few.

As the gaming market surges, the ways people engage with games are changing. Newzoo’s revamped Gamer Segmentation data debunk the misconception that young, unemployed men dominate gaming. In fact, Newzoo’s found that nearly 46 percent of game enthusiasts are women.

Women comprise 40 percent of ultimate gamers—what Newzoo defines as the most dedicated gamers who are infatuated with all things playing, viewing and owning—and 41 percent of the hardware enthusiasts group—those who are more engaged with tweaking and optimizing the game system’s internal components.

Another common misconception Newzoo’s findings negate is that only teenagers interact with games. At 27 percent, gamers aged 21 to 30 represent the majority of gamers, followed by 23 percent for teen gamers and gamers aged 31-40, respectively.

In addition, most gamers are medium to high earners with full-time jobs, according to Newzoo.

New to Newzoo’s consumer insights this year, the lapsed gamer persona—or those who played games in the past but now neither play nor watch game content—present an opportunity for game publishers as 29 percent of lapsed gamers intend to play games again in the next six months. It’s interesting to note that 35 percent of lapsed gamers who plan to return are women between the ages of 36 and 65.