Online gaming has transformed significantly for all demographics, especially women. As technology advances, new opportunities reshape how people play. This blog examines what women most often seek in online gaming and highlights current terms that are top searched among female gamers.
What Women Are Searching for in Online Gaming?
It’s not just about Sims, which was labelled as a female game; it’s more so women within the 18-35 age bracket who are finding fresh new games by searching for specific genres that they enjoy or that they are used to playing for a long time. These sorts of methods lead them to finding exactly what they are after or what they would get pleasure out of, rather than a game they are not fully into. Women commonly search by genre, with some highly popular searches compared to others. Let’s dive more into the different ways women are searching to find new games online. Here are the TOP 5 genres searched by female online gamers:
- Role Playing Games: RPGs are a consistent favourite among female players worldwide, offering a deep narrative and character development.
- Match 3 and Family/Farm Simulations: Games like Candy Crush Saga are extremely popular, with a large majority of players being women. Studies suggest that women make up a large majority of players in these genres.
- Casual Puzzle and Atmospheric Exploration: These games are popular with mostly women, making up half the audience.
- Adventure and Action-Adventure: Games in this specific genre are favoured by females, particularly those that allow for free exploration of rich, immersive virtual worlds.
- Life Simulation: Known as the cosy genre, this category allows female players to experience real-life activities in a low-stress and open-ended environment.
So what motivates female gamers behind their genre preferences? Well, the appeal of attractive game visuals and the freedom to explore game universes drives interest in action-adventure and life simulation games. However, there is a sense of achievement and mastery among female gamers where completing goals is a strong motivator, particularly among older female gamers online. A lot of women who play games like to have a low-stress feeling when playing and want to be more relaxed around friends and family, with the pleasure of enjoying the game at the same time. Specific search terms and filters are used most of the time when female gamers are looking to find something fresh and new to play online. A lot of the filters are defined through the genres women look for when browsing. Search terms such as “narrative-driven” or “female-led” games are examples that female gamers use to find new titles among the many ways of finding new games through social groups and connecting with gamers all over the world online.
Social Connections And Discovery
Female gamers today discover new games primarily through their social circles, which are the majority of close friends and family members. Online communities on platforms like Reddit, Discord, and Twitch are highly popular for female gamers to find new game titles and are often influenced by mobile app rankings and recommendations from trusted streamers and YouTubers. With these 3 sites offering new recommendations by communities, they also open the door to non-binary individuals, finding gaming partners, sharing their experiences, and joining GirlGamers. Influencers on YouTube or Twitch who stream have their tastes aligned, and it can be a popular source of discovering games. With female gamers connecting with these community groups, they can share their niche and share their passion to attract those like-minded individuals.
Competition sites are a big factor when it comes to online female gaming lovers. Studies show that they can be motivated by competitive elements and seek to prove themselves in ranked games, through preferences and motivations. Context is key; the specific terms a female gamer uses can depend on the situation. For example, in a competitive male-dominated environment, they might use stronger terms or phrases to assert their place, but in contrast, a female gamer focuses on building community and uses more collaborative terms. They primarily use specific game and competitive search terms on competition sites, not terms based on their gender it’s more terms as “girl gamer” or “gamer girl”. The latter terms are often used by external sources, sometimes with negative connotations, rather than by women gamers themselves. However, on some platforms, online female gamers will use terms or hashtags like “gamer girlfriend”, “gaming girls”, “shooters,” or “ battle royales” to emphasise their identity as just gamers.
Top Competition Sites
Women who game will use top competition sites and initiatives that include specialised tournaments like the VCT Game Changes for Valorant and ESL Impact for Counter-Strike, alongside community platforms like The Lobby from Sky Broadband and initiatives like The Milk Cup by Gonnaneedmilk. These sites offer a combination of live events, content creation, skill development, and prize pools to foster a competitive environment for gamers. Furthermore, the general competition sites like Challengermode host numerous tournaments across various games, which can be joined by community groups and individual players. Here’s more of a breakdown of the competition sites:
- The Milk Cup: A women’s Fortnite series organised by Gonnaneedmilk featuring competitive events, prize money, exclusive community events, coaching, and scrims to help women level up their gameplay online.
- The Lobby: UK-based initiative by Sky Broadband and Guild Esports offering live events, a studio for content creation, skill building, and game days with professional coaches.
- Reddit: Subreddits like r/GirlGames or game-specific subreddits can be a good source for finding smaller, community-organised tournaments and getting more involved in gaming.
- GameTree: An LFG (Looking For Group) platform that uses AI to help players find and coordinate with other gamers who match their style and gaming interests, facilitating connections for competition.
- VCT Game Changers: A Prominent circuit for women’s Valorant competitions offering significant opportunities for female players.
- ESL Impact: A high-tier circuit focused on Counter-Strike, providing opportunities for female players to compete at the top level.
- FACEIT: Popular platform for finding tournaments and matches, which also features women-only events in conjunction with organisations like Women’s Esports.
- Discord and Douban Communities: Many initiatives and games host their own Discord servers where players can find information and connect with other gamers.
In summary, females are making up a significant portion of the gaming community, with some reports indicating they represent roughly half of all gamers worldwide. Females are more interested in the adventure type of gaming experience compared to males, who prefer immersive and shooting games in today’s online gaming. The female audience has more of a preferred way to look for new online gaming and find what appeals to them most through connections, certain terms, and feeling more involved in the community gaming world.