We surveyed US gamers to discover if the skills honed by playing video games improve a person in real life, and the results are in.
Our snapshot of 1,000 American gamers, based across the country, quizzed them on how many hours they spent gaming, their gaming skill level, along with the genres of video games they are most likely to play.
We then asked gamers to complete a situational judgement test to determine whether they have the top 10 most transferable professional skills, according to online recruiter Indeed.
The results generated a score out of 80, and the scores were analyzed to determine whether high-volume gamers and certain types of gamers had more transferable skills in the world of employment.
Sports Video Games Are the Best for Increasing Transferable Skills
A survey of 1,000 US gamers revealed sports games, including Mario Kart, improve a person’s transferable skills the most.
Three of the top six video games associated with giving gamers the highest transferable skills in business were sports-related titles.
Regular Mario Kart World players achieved a 73 average weighted score, while players of MLB The Show 25 and Forza Horizon 5 achieved averaged weighted scores of 72.80 and 72.60 respectively.
The games that topped the rankings for weighted scores were The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (73.80) and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (73.50). Both of which are action role-playing games.
Exploring the Types of Video Games and Their Associated Transferable Skills
One of the biggest takeaways from this survey was that each video game genre has its own specific attributes that can translate to the world of work.
Here are the top four genres and their most transferable skills to attract employers:
- Sports: Players of sports-themed video games tend to be strong in leadership and team management. They also have high levels of dependability and tech literacy, so you can be sure a gamer can pick up and run with most new platforms or systems.
- Sandbox: Players of sandbox-style video games like Minecraft are typically strongest in the problem-solving department. Equally, they also have strong leadership and team management attributes like sports gamers. Their organizational skills also stood out from our testing too.
- Action-Adventure: Action-adventure video games such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered follow a similar path in giving gamers rock-solid dependability and problem-solving capabilities. Where this genre differs to sports and sandbox games is the more emotive transferable skills it gives gamers. Action-adventure gamers tended to be more empathetic and willing to accept various perspectives. This more circumspect approach could make them well-suited to managerial roles.
- Action: All-action video games also have the propensity to foster a gamer’s problem-solving, leadership, team management, and tech literacy skills. We’re talking games like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
Interestingly, those who gamed for 13 or more hours a week had the highest number of transferable skills for employers. Meanwhile, those who only played for up to three hours a week had the fewest number of transferable skills for the world of work.
When we drilled down at a demographic level, it was found that Gen Z gamers displayed inconsistent performance when they gamed for many hours. This suggests a potential diminishing return or distraction at 13+ hours of gaming a week.
Which US State Has the Most Employable Gamers?
Gamers in five US states stand out as having the most employable credentials, driven largely by their console-based pastimes.
- Florida: Gamers in the Sunshine State of Florida were deemed to have the most transferable skills in the entire US. With an average weighted score of 74.80 out of 80, Floridians would appear to be most employable as team leaders or line managers. 85% of gamers based here exhibited transferable leadership and dependability traits.
- Pennsylvania: Gamers in the Keystone State of Pennsylvania weren’t that far behind Floridians either. They posted an average weighted score of 74.40 out of 80. Pennsylvanians didn’t just score highly in leadership and dependability either. They had the second-highest empathy and adaptability skills, as well as competitive problem-solving and tech literacy skills. Attributes that would also make them good leaders in the digital age.
- Wisconsin: In Wisconsin, gamers’ highest employable skills are both tech literacy and leadership and dependability. Of the respondents surveyed in the state, 83% displayed these attributes that could stand them in good stead for life in the fast-moving tech industry.
- Minnesota: Gamers in Minnesota were posted one of the lowest scores for leadership and dependability (63.16%), yet their tech literacy, problem-solving and data analysis skills were off the charts at 89.47% and 84.21%. This suggests Minnesotan gamers would be well-suited to analytical roles or perhaps in the fast-growing AI sector.
- Missouri: Missouri’s data was some of the most fascinating, since 85% of its respondents displayed strong levels of leadership and dependability. Yet only 50% demonstrated empathetic and adaptability traits. This suggests Missouri’s gamers would make for good senior workers, while lacking the people skills to line manage.
Methodology
Researchers at Slotozilla surveyed 1,009 respondents using Prolific.
The team devised a situational judgement test (SJT) to assess each respondent’s competency in the most important workplace skills. The task involved 5 scenarios, of which each concentrated on two skills. For each scenario, respondents selected a worst and best optional response, where a maximum of four points were available.
The results of each scenario were multiplied by the weighting of the workplace skills. This gave a score out of 80 for each participant.
An average of those scores for different gaming subgroups was taken as an assessment of their workplace skills.
