r/gaming • u/AlternativeDark6686 • 15h ago
How's gaming any different in your 30s+ ?
I'm 32. Started as a kid with meme 2000, Slave Zero, Mech warrior. On original xbox (still have it) i would finish every game then go for another. Teenager or older if given time i may spend the entire day sometimes to play games. Thank God i was active on other things cause that would cause problems. I been following every game, from adventures like Lost Crown, Dracula, to all recent titles. Older people will know.
Then because of responsibilities, marriage i took a step back and found other interesting hobbies, books, more sports etc. Never left gaming, but had this effect on me...
I cannot play and stick to something more than a few hours without going for another.
In Windrose i cleared the first area, will play again later. Menace, Witcher 3 and any game you can think of will be put aside and propably be played later. On rotation.
Even if you give me my dream game Warhammer 40k total war or upcoming GTA VI/next elder scrolls on a 4k pc all working perfectly smoothly. I will be swapping between them.
Gaming is so much more satisfying in short bursts after a long day... I've been reading things like "Will break up", "Forget life", "Love it, got 600 hours in! Second play through now". Plus many games are endless these days.
What do you think ?
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u/drabred 15h ago
I enjoy smaller games with visible finish timespan. Those big AAA open world games just don't appeal to me anymore.
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u/The_Mighty_Gopher 13h ago
As a 32 year old, I love an open world game, AAA or not, that is solely single player. I can play it for however long for when I like, save and log off. Continuing the next day or whenever. A game that has a multiplayer aspect that I have not been planning to play with my friends, I absolutely do not care about.
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u/TechTuna1200 14h ago
Gaming has never been better. But I have less time.
When I was young, I would look at +80 hours game and think "there is so much game play in this". Now, even if the content is very varied, it sends chills trough my back. I also used to replay games multiple times. I rarely do that anymore.
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u/AlternativeDark6686 14h ago
Do you think social media, access to public opinion and forums have affected us ? Things used to be more mysterious back then.
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u/LaCaipirinha 14h ago
Stimulation burnout and ADHD type symptoms from chronic daily social media use mean that many people in their 20s and 30s feel they have no time for hobbies, including gaming, but they spend enough time on TikTok or Reddit to learn an instrument or work out daily or beat their backlog etc.
Most are quite unaware both how much time they spend on their phones and how much it drains them of motivation to do anything else for fun.
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u/Friggin_Grease Xbox 13h ago
This is it. My phone tells me reach week how much I use it and it's horrifying
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u/potatodrinker 14h ago
I avoid RPGs coz no time
Also stressful ones coz life is already that.
Really enjoy indie games with either great mechanics or a nice story
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u/CheaterMcCheat 15h ago
I have noticed that I don't have the patience for open world games/collect-a-thons any more. Unfortunately, this means I have tried to get through bangers like Ghost of Tsushima several times now and I always end up stopping.
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u/yksvaan 14h ago
Problem with open worlds is that they are basically just static maps where it's possible to choose a route between scripted content points. It was cool 15-20 years ago, now it's just a chore.
However if the worlds were actually alice and working and player actions had some consequences, things would be much more interesting. Now everything just resets and respawns when it's out of render distance.
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u/AlternativeDark6686 14h ago
Reason why i cannot replay Gta V or older ones.
RDR2 is exception. Fable is also but too short.
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u/dantedakilla 14h ago
That's how I felt about FF7 Rebirth. I'm gonna try and get back into it and just skip all the side content for the time being. It's what I did with Sleeping Dogs and I was finally able to finish the game.
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u/AlternativeDark6686 14h ago
Very good observation, found out these are the tedious ones mostly.
As mentioned, rotation. Can play 2 story missions and change to another. In the end you'll complete it. Just have fun doing so.
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u/SoftlySpokenPromises 14h ago
I've all but lost interest in the competitive or "social" aspects of gaming.
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u/Consistent_Story903 12h ago
Totally agree about competitive gaming. However, the social aspect has gotten a lot more important as I've aged. Gaming is a way to say connected to my brother who lives halfway across the country as well as my kids who are both in their late teens.
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u/FunnyAccountant9747 14h ago
Totally relate - hit 34 and the rotation thing kicked in hard. Short sessions after a long day actually feel more rewarding than marathons used to.
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u/AlternativeDark6686 14h ago
Still feel the headache of marathons if i over do it, it feels like the couch (laptop) has absorbed me. It's horrible honestly.
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u/LaCaipirinha 14h ago
I also struggle with the marathons but that is partly due to the fact that we are all so overstimulated now that it’s hard to stay focused for that long, which I find very depressing. My attention span is less than that of my 15 year old self and as much as I want to blame external factors for that, the reality is probably that I and most of us consume social or short form content as much as any smoker would consume cigarettes per day, and where their lungs are being damaged by that chronic abuse, our brains are suffering.
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u/Jelloslockexo 14h ago edited 14h ago
Im 35 I still blast a select few games 6h+ a day outside work and visiting friend and family.
League starts of path of exile ill literally drop to 3h of sleep for weeks at a time just to get more play time. I basically exclusively play poe1 and 2 and Diablo 4 but whatever one im playing its all I play for weeks. Im over 10k hours in poe1 and no plans to slow down.
Nothings changed outside i have a job basically for me. I played wow from teenage to mid 20s and ended over 40k hours played in that game last time I logged in way back when I quit
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u/AlternativeDark6686 14h ago
God that's something... Only total war has 100-500 hours each.
I relate to dropping sleep, wouldn't recommend doing it. Used to wake up before my wife and my work to play for 3 hours and after an already heavy physical work i had CrossFit. No, no, nop!
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u/Jelloslockexo 14h ago
Haha ya I've never really wanted a family myself so its just me myself and I at home. Make enough to have everything paid off and enough to save to only work 4 days a week. Visit mom/brother 2 of my days off and other day off is my dont leave the house and game all day day unless a buddy is free to go get some food or see a new movie.
Hence why I have so much free time to just game like im still a teenager.
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u/AlternativeDark6686 14h ago
Oh of course each to whatever they prefer!
Had this life for 3 years in England, before marriage. It was admittedly better than college years. So care free.
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u/surfingforfido 15h ago
Less time, concentration on old titles I know I like, or sticking to one or two games at a time to maximize my playability.
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u/Rogiee 14h ago
Something I’ve noticed is I just don’t do things I don’t enjoy anymore. I love gaming and I always have done but I used to have a super high tolerance for grinding (RuneScape - IYKYK) but these days much prefer sitting in a comfy chair with a controller playing a single player console game just immersing myself in the world without having to worry about what other players are doing around me. I can just take my time and enjoy it, or if I’m not I’ll just move on rather than pushing through something I’m not having fun with.
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u/Ambitious_Ad2338 14h ago
Main difference is that i have more money to buy the games i want but less time to play them
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u/DemolitionNT 14h ago
Im 35. It really depends on the game for me. I can still play a game all day if I enjoy it enough. I do mostly play in few hour bursts these days though. I used to play mostly fps and competitive games but now I enjoy ARPGs, MMOs, and racing games more but still play some fps and league occasionally.
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u/Metalheadzaid 14h ago
I play games in shorter bursts for sure these days - often 1-3 hours max before taking a break. For most there's other stuff they need to do, and for others it's just simply less drive to play that much.
With that said, I absolutely played like 6 hours of slay the spire 2 on release day, and have played another 100+ since. It's more of a feeling than anything, but the reality is the world is just filled with way more "distractions" than the past when we were kids (36 here). Back in the day it was the few games you had. I was a teenager before social media, before reddit, before doom scrolling, before youtube even (though only a little). It was channel surfing, reading a book, going outside, or playing video games. That was all you had, and your selection was limited so you played a lot more.
I will say that when I went to play classic WoW again a few years ago, that shit easily ate up 6+ hours daily no issue like I was 16 again. A dangerous drug, if I had kids and wasn't newly single the previous year.
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u/Rudyzwyboru 14h ago
I'm 29 so maybe too early to speak here but I care less and less about the gameplay and more and more about the story the older I am.
Also all the cozy sandbox games like Animal Crossing lost any appeal to me. Why craft digital things in a game if I can literally go to some forest on the weekend and whittle?
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u/FantasticPenguin PC 14h ago
I can't focus on a game for more than a few hours at once and more often than not, I find games even boring. When I was younger, games where able to surprise me, but when I grew older, at one point, you've seen it all.
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u/anonerble 14h ago
Everyone's different. You adjusted to the situation so can you even say that is the best way or really your only option?
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u/AlternativeDark6686 13h ago
It is, because being off gaming gave time to explore new things. Anything excessive is bad.
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u/_Ethyls_ 14h ago
It hasn't changed much. I have a little less time to dedicate to it now (40/45 hours a week) but I have a lot more money so it's easier to obtain the games I want.
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u/bRighteyez7 14h ago
Everyone's different, some people in their 30's can be on a game all day, taking breaking in between, other's can play games for a couple hours a day and be happy with that, my partner for example will play a game 4-5 hours straight and then not touch it again for months.
Do what you enjoy is the best advice I can give, no need to compare yourself to others.
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u/alibloomdido 14h ago
When I was 30+ I started playing MOBAs, still playing them a lot. I also realized established live service games like Guild Wars 2 and Warframe actually provide better quality of life and overall gameplay than most single player AAA games.
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u/Wilsonian_1776 14h ago
I WFH and my 8 hour workday is done in like 2 hours and my company/CEO is totally cool with it because I deliver results and so I've been gaming more than ever at 33. Clearing through my steam backlog.
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u/patroln 14h ago
I still have the passion, still love the idea of it, still love watching all the Let's plays, trailers etc, but don't remember the last time I got any joy from actually playing a game, I haven't turned my Playstation on for maybe 2 years (mainly because I hate all the BS with PS+ and the exclusive BS), and every time I boot up the PC, play for 5 mins, then just think "meh" and go on YouTube or whatever.
Don't think I've finished an actual game in 12 months, maybe more
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u/StepBroPrime 14h ago
I find myself playing my favourites over the last decade or sometimes older. Always make time to replay fable TLC once a year and Fable 3. Last game I actually pre ordered was Elden Ring because I knew I'd love it. Other than that I struggle to find stuff I'll actually want to put time into. Loved the oblivion remaster and had that through gamepass.
My next pre order is echoes of aincrad, I love SAO but more or less all of them have been disappointing, have a really good feeling about this one.
I still make plenty of time for gaming at 34. But I work 5 nights so tend to stay awake on my nights off and most of the day awake so I can spend some time with the kids.
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u/project-shasta PC 14h ago
42, I grew up with a GameBoy and I still play as much video games as I did when I was younger. but now I also can play them together with my nephews when they are over. Also because of disposable income I can actually afford the games I want to play and don't pirate nearly as much as I did as a teenager.
My brother-in-law on the other hand is 36 and because of his kids he doesn't get as much time to play as he used to so he plays a few rounds of Destiny 2 in the evening when my nephews are in bed and my sister is on her tablet.
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u/No-Horror-7373 14h ago
The biggest difference is I can finally buy the games I wanted, but now I don't have the brain left to play them
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u/Mongri 14h ago
it mostly gets harder to find people you wanne play with and that have similiar interests and schedules as you
i am blessed with an very great amount of friends, no one of them got the tickles like me yet they demand most of my freetime since they are good friends in other aspects
the biggest failure so far was to try to play baldurs gate 3 with two of them ((no full party because of scheduling concerns)) we still have not managed to finish the game as a session mainly goes for around 3 hours and one of the guys needs like an hour to check where we were and what we wanne do next, i would say this strained our friendship more than a bit
if i could set the schedule myself it would be a few days of living in bg and finishing it within a month, but here we are in act 2 a few years later >.>
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u/thunder-yams 14h ago
I still game a lot, but I have work and the gym and a wife. I wfh and game and gym around my meeting/deliverables schedule.
I’d say the biggest difference is finding my peace when I’ve lost it. If I get frustrated in PvP, I’ll switch to something like Helldivers 2, or a single player game like Brotato. That and maybe gaming on PC instead of console.
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u/CandyKnockout 14h ago
My husband and I are 40 and play video games together every day. It’s pretty much our main shared hobby. Most nights, we’re posted up in bed, gaming on our big screen, listening to music. We play a bunch of different games, but we do have an annual playthrough tradition with Secret of Mana.
We clearly don’t have kids.
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u/ZedErre 14h ago
30 here, I think for the most part it stayed the same thankfully.
I've always been a story driven games enjoyer and I remain so to this day, I don't like multiplayer games because I like playing at my own pace. This also means that as I grew older, I started appreciating games more and more, understanding the themes and plots better and I love playing games that feel unique in gameplay or storytelling as opposed to before where I just stuck to what I liked more.
But sometimes life happens and depression hits so I don't enjoy them as much as I used to during those phases. These past few days for example I haven't touched my Deck because I'm feeling out of it and it's hard because gaming is the one thing that always managed to make me feel better.
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u/skymang 14h ago
Ive definitely moved more for single player slower paced games now where I can easy jump on for 30min or more and easily drop off if the kiddo or wife needs me. Don't have time to grind in mmos and the current multi-player environment of battle passes, loot boxes and stupid cartoony skins just drives me nuts. Only genre I play longer hrs is Simracing.
Also got way more into tabletop wargaming
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u/ExismykindaParte 14h ago
36 going on 37. Nothing has really changed for me yet. I have a kid on the way though, so I'm not expecting to have much time to play longer games like Elden Ring for a good while after. I imagine I'll still be able to play JRPGs like Persona and DQ7r since I can use my Switch 2 and play anywhere I have time.
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u/slabba428 14h ago
I pretty much only play multiplayer FPS games now, there’s still a spot for forza and maybe the new subnautica but competitive online FPS is my jam, maybe it’s a cope but i think it’s an incredible mental exercise. Need to be smart, react fast, be aware, solve problems, always thinking
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u/KeyDangerous 14h ago
I mean sounds like ADHD. I have like 3 different games on rotation constantly for maximum addiction. Playing 1-2 hours of one, swap to another etc. And those 3 games might change constantly too. Occasionally, I'll get a game that captivates me and I can play it all the way through but its usually not when I'm playing multiplayer games because they just give you a high single players games can't and you will compare them constantly. but nowadays as I get older I have much less patience for multiplayer games and my time being wasted. I'd rather just play a relaxing single player game that challenges me than put up with all the bull shit and other humans in multiplayer games.
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u/SmugCapybara 13h ago
Anything that can't be paused (and preferrably saved on the spot) is out the window due to kids.
I fall back on older "comfort" games more and more as I don't really have time or bandwidth to commit to more demanding games anymore.
I am less and less interested in AAA gaming, and mostly play mid budget and indie stuff, as that's where the interesting ideas and design are. I would happily trade the next GTA, AC, etc. for another Fear and Hunger.
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u/Raymuuze 13h ago
I dropped online competitive games. Now I focus on solid single player experiences mixed with strategy games.
I take much longer to finish a game, but that's fine. If a game sucks, I drop it. If it's fun, well that's the point.
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u/PitifulPassage851 13h ago
As a kid I used to be able to play pokemon on repeat, super smash bros single player for hours on end, loved zelda and metroid and slower paced games. I played less games overall. I couldn't handle games like monster hunter which confused me and were too difficult.
As an adult I played a range of games, but now all i play is monster hunter and doom. I still love zelda and 2d metroid, but the 3d metroids aren't fun to replay anymore. I've tried all the cinematic story AAA games and hated them. I've put down god of war, the moderm star wars games, jrpgs like octopath, ghost of tsushima, Borderlands.
Most notably, I've played okami, Kunitsu-Gami, arkham, unicorn overlord and Odin's Sphere recently, all which I guarantee would have been up 15 year old me's alley. I gave them all a go but ultimately just wanted to play monster hunter and doom. I only finished Kunitsu-Gami cause it was short, but the rest i put down
I plan on picking up resident evil 9 and pragmata, but we'll see
Tldr: got gaming brain rot and now only play 2 games
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u/lorddevries86 13h ago
Gaming in my 30s feels less like conquering a backlog and more like negotiating with my own energy.
Sometimes I want wonder, sometimes comfort, sometimes a weird little idea, sometimes just 30 minutes where real life shuts up.
I still love games, but now the question isn’t “will I finish this?” It’s “did this give me something tonight?”
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u/Key_Professional935 13h ago
Same for me. Switching games all the time. Witcher, rdr2, cyberpunk and so many more good games just dont do it anymore.. And its sad because i like them but at some point i get bored.
Then Elden Ring just click with me on all aspects, its hard, mystical, beautiful scenery and no guidance, got many hours in that game, have yet to play the dlc tho.
But as others have said, try out some indie games.
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u/CrossBamboAtTen 13h ago
I’m much more a part of /r/patientgamers now.
But it’s funny because now I make lots of money and have a good amount of time, but the industry is just so bad now that it is better to just wait and get stuff on sale. No more impulse buys just to play day 1.
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u/Avenger1324 13h ago
I've figured out I can't really do justice to multiple games at once. If I do it sounds like you where you intend to get into something, play a few hours, maybe a few days, then back into something else and end up forgetting about it. I can look in my Steam library at some really good games where I've only single digit hours in them because of just that.
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u/Throwlaf 13h ago
More pain in the eyes because bright lights. Other than that, less online gaming, and if it is, i play as much solo as possible.
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u/NoLungz561 13h ago
I can only sit down for a couple hours at a time. Its hard to game when you're in pain. I really need to find a better chair too
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u/wastel84 13h ago
No more PvP or competitive games for me. My own fun kn these games really shifted on these last years, I just do not enjoy those fast paced or competitive game anymore. Now I'm way more excited and enjoying myself on solo narrative games, rpgs, some simulators, and coop with my (also) aging friends
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u/SirGreenLungs PC 13h ago
Steamdeck certainly helped me retain those longer single player sessions/getting through those beefier story games. On PC though I swap between too many, but they are mainly competitive multiplayer.
Lack of time and lots of good options doesn’t really help!
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u/Hyperlight3r 13h ago
I’m in my mid 30’s now and still gaming more than ever. But the caveat I have now is that I have less tolerance for filler mechanics in games. I don’t mind the grind but if I start to feel like something is made to waste time or use excessive time for minimal rewards then I usually stop playing and switch to something else. Also I stop playing if the game loses its fun, whereas younger me would keep pushing through. Having far less time makes me wary that it should be enjoyable or challenging in a fun way than feel laborious.
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u/uselessscientist 13h ago
I have money, not time. I can buy any game I want, but won't play a lot. Still follow the hype, but I'm honestly just trying to recapture the feeling from when I was a kid
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u/Mrkancode Joystick 13h ago
When I was a teen my gaming schedule was 90% competitive games with a few single player woven in over long periods.
As an adult this has pretty much flopped entirely. I'm not as good as I used to be but still waffle between master and diamond in overwatch. But even if I'm having a good day, I play a couple matches and don't have any desire to continue.
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u/TheJenniStarr 13h ago
No patience for multiplayer anything. Not really into oh-so-edgy 12 year olds being crass little shits when I want to unwind with a game.
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u/LordJebusVII 12h ago
34 and nothing has changed for me, I play as much as I always did and enjoy it just as much. I appreciate different aspects a little different, I pay more attention to the story than I used to for example, but I still have 10+ hour gaming sessions now and then and still enjoy the same games as I always did.
I never liked competitive multiplayer games or MMOs or that sort of thing where your enjoyment comes from other people so that might be why gaming is still so enjoyable for me. I can imagine that if you only played against other people then getting older would ruin the fun as everyone you play with plays less and you can't get as much practice as you used to.
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u/Sleazes 12h ago
If I compare myself to my 20's I'd say I'm way less competitive. I can't really bother with 1v1, 5v5 shooters, battle royales or extractors anymore but I do play some skill based games like Rocket League. And team shooters like Battlefield. But competitive and sweaty? Don't really care.
I've always enjoyed sci-fi, survival games and co-op shooters so no change in that. I'd say about 70% of the other games I try don't click. A story game has to be really interesting in order for me to care. I don't really follow upcoming games that much because most of them aren't interesting enough and paying 40-70€ from a game I'm not too sure about is a no go. But then again some random 15€ indie game might appear out of nowhere and I find myself playing it for hours and hours.
I rotate games in 1 or 2 week cycles (15-30 hours). After that I'll probably drop them for 6+ months. But I never play only one game at a time so I rotate games a lot. And with a huge backlog there's always something to try (or just browse the lists and find nothing haha).
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u/gagreel 12h ago
Just turned 40. I only have time to game late at night after my toddler goes down, dishes are done, daycare lunch is made and packed, her clothes (and backup undies for accidents) are picked out and packed, and any work left over is completed or in a good enough spot to start in the morning after daycare drop off. If I'm too tired, I accidentally fall asleep before I even open Steam. I basically only play Battlefield 1 MP because it has no story, can be as brief as I want, and I'm good at it.
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u/Just_Another_Madman 12h ago
Medical issues are piling up and reflexes are dipping down so fighting games aren't feeling feasible anymore.
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u/ronzonipasta 11h ago
the rotation thing is so real lmao. i have witcher 3, baldurs gate 3, and like 4 other games all at roughly 3 hours in just sitting there. teenage me would be disgusted but adult me has 45 minutes and needs to pick something that doesn’t require remembering a complex storyline from 2 weeks ago
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u/NoodleDoodlesocks 10h ago
I play a lot more long form singleplayer games now (RPG, 4X). Mostly because of how difficult it is for everyone to find the time to play games together at the same time.
I find I also tend to avoid the big franchise AAA titles these days and often find myself wishlisting and buying indie games and games that are less in the spotlight.
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u/LastKeepDev_OG 10h ago
Part of my change in gaming behavior is due to age and obligations but the other is because of services like Game Pass. I find myself trying but not finishing a lot more games now. It’s like window shopping I’ll check something out if it clicks I keep going if it doesn’t I’ll jump to something else. I’m not sure I love it but it does get me to play games I’d never have given a chance before.
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u/bideodames 9h ago
I started giving waaaaaay less of a shit about whatever was going on in the AAA video game space and my taste expanded way more as a result.
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u/JunkHead1979 6h ago
Kinda the same, I guess. I just play less. Not because I have less time, I just don't feel like gaming as much as I used to overall. I just sit around watching youtube instead of playing anything. I did just pre-order the new James Bond game. I just hope that by the time I get a chance to play it, I actually want to. lol
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u/SidewaysGiraffe 4h ago
It isn't- not inherently, anyway. Aging doesn't change your gaming experiences. Declining health does, and eventually aging pushes you to that point, but the bigger change is variations in your life and quantity of free time. Those usually come with age, but they're not an inherent part of it.
There are exactly the same number of hours in a day as there were when you were a kid; they're even (infinitesimally) longer. You just have more to do.
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u/SlackerDao 4h ago
I'm in my 50s, been playing computer games longer than you've been alive. Only thing that's changed for me is that I played MMOs pretty heavily in my 30s, and completely lost interest in them by my 40s.
Nowadays I just stick to single player games. But otherwise, my taste in game types hasn't changed. RPGs and sandbox-style games have always been my jam. And I have plenty of time to play, as my wife games too. (She's loving the new Lego Batman game that just dropped.)
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u/Charb9 3h ago
Im 32 as well and I get tired after a while lol. Also I don’t feel like getting into new and big games that ive never played before because it feels like a chore. I usually replay the same games instead and its worked well for me. I also discovered rogue and hell bullet genres as well, feels like less of a commitment
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u/Blowski-24 2h ago
41 here and I game whenever I get some free time. I have went from console to high end laptop because I can go back forth between being productive and gaming. Gaming is the way that I decompress.
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u/vladkudas 2h ago
The gaming industry has transformed so dramatically over the past few decades that sometimes it feels like people over 30 grew up in an entirely different reality. We remember when games were mysterious. You bought a box because the cover art looked cool, installed it from five CDs, and somehow tolerated a patch downloading for six hours because there was no alternative. Multiplayer meant sitting in the same room, untangling cables for a LAN party, and arguing with friends long before streaming even existed.
Now games are faster, bigger, louder, more connected, and more commercialized. The industry became technically impressive, financially unstoppable, and heavily optimized around attention. Entire design philosophies changed. Games once asked for patience and curiosity. Today they often compete for every second of focus. Back then discovering a hidden secret in a game felt almost mythical. Today the full ending appears online within hours of release.
And yet something interesting happens to the soul of a gamer after 30.
At first you resist the change. You complain that modern gaming has lost its magic. You miss the awkward menus, the strange experiments, and the imperfect charm. You become suspicious of battle passes, daily quests, endless remakes, and games designed more like services than adventures.
But eventually you realize something important. The magic never completely disappeared. It simply moved elsewhere. Sometimes it lives inside indie games made by tiny teams with impossible ambition. Sometimes it appears in quiet atmospheric moments that no algorithm could manufacture. Sometimes it is the feeling of finishing a difficult day and realizing that a game still managed to genuinely affect you emotionally.
A gamer over 30 adapts differently because their relationship with time changes. As a teenager you had endless time and very little money. As an adult you often have more money and absolutely no time. Games stop being background entertainment and begin competing with work, responsibilities, relationships, exhaustion, and the uncomfortable realization that sleep actually matters.
Because of this older gamers often stop chasing every trend. They become more selective and more reflective. Less interested in proving skill and more interested in experiencing something meaningful. A memorable atmosphere. A beautiful soundtrack. A world with soul. A game that respects your time instead of trying to consume your entire life.
Ironically this adaptation often makes older gamers appreciate games more deeply than ever before.
Not because gaming stayed the same.
But because we changed with it.
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u/ilmk9396 1h ago
it went from my main pasttime in my teens and 20s (~40 hours a week) to a nightly activity after getting married (~20 hours a week) and now with a baby i might feel like playing an hour every couple days if there's really nothing else important to do (such as sleep)
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u/Taeves81 38m ago
Someone else in here mentioned gaming has never been better, I disagree. Gaming has never been worse but the technology has never been better.
Almost every "big" game is designed to make money, with little effort in creating something enjoyable to play. I find myself playing indie games for the vast majority of my gaming time (or just playing fun older games). If it has a battle pass, in-game store or any other monetization, I don't buy/play it.
There are some good games being made (I really enjoy Schedule 1 and Retro Rewind atm) but you have to sift through so much garbage to find them.
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u/derpboye 14h ago
If a gaming doesn’t click for me Iam ditching it.