Data from a recent YouGov survey that polled respondents across 17 international markets shows that video gaming jobs are among those people are least likely to view positively. A little over three in ten (31%) respondents have a positive view of roles in the video gaming industry - an impressive lead nonetheless over bottom-placed gambling jobs (12%).
One in five people (20%) say they see people working in video gaming jobs in a negative light, while over two in five (43%) take a neutral stance.
YouGov’s demographic data reveals that men are more likely than women (36% vs. 26%) to view gaming jobs positively. However, similar proportions of men and women (19% vs. 21%) view these jobs negatively.
Further, 46% of women view gaming jobs in neither positive nor negative light - a sentiment matched by two in five (40%) men.
By market, what people feel about those working in the video gaming industry
Positive view of people working in video gaming
Respondents in the UAE lead (48%) across markets in saying they have a positive view of video gaming jobs. The UAE is one of the markets in the Middle East investing generously in its gaming industry, with the larger region emerging as a global gaming hub in recent times. Interestingly, respondents in the UAE are also the most likely across markets to view esports as a real sport.
Indonesians (47%), Indians (41%) and Mexicans (39%), Singaporeans (32%) and Poles (32%) follow respondents in the UAE in feeling positively about video gaming jobs.
But less than a quarter of Brits (24%) and Americans (23%) agree as well.
Negative view of people working in video gaming
Germans account for the largest proportion (30%) of those who say they view video gaming jobs negatively, followed by Britons (26%) and Australians (25%). Notably, both, Americans and Brits (alongside Canadians) are the least likely across all markets to view esports as a real sport.
In Asia, Indians (18%) and Singaporeans (18%) are most likely to have a negative take of people working in the gaming space.
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 500 and 2040 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in January 2024. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.
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