Pushing Buttons: Is it game over for gaming's pandemic boom?

During the pandemic, video games have had an unprecedented boom while pretty much every other cultural sector – from music and nightlife to theatre and cinema – have tanked. With everyone stuck inside looking for ways to alleviate their boredom and socialise safety, it is no wonder that the global games market grew from $150bn in 2019 to $180bn in 2020 (£). Millions of people bought consoles (the Nintendo Switch especially saw a huge surge); and some of us who already had consoles felt like a shiny new PlayStation 5, say, might alleviate the pandemic blues for a while. Every facet of gaming, from mobile to consoles, Twitch viewership to concurrent Steam player numbers, was given a boost. It's also hardly surprising, then, that the games industry is now facing a contraction.