The sudden appearance of COVID-19 has drastically changed the life of a lot of people. Whether it is adults or students, many have tried to find the best way to kill time. Because most people are home all the time, they have found gaming to be a fun and easy way to do so. Gaming has become a valid choice for those that have nothing else to do. 

Gaming in general has considerably benefitted from COVID-19. Because people are both in lockdown and have gained an interest in gaming, viewership on twitch and youtube have increased due to a world-wide quarantine. Since the start of quarantine, Twitch viewership has gotten a massive increase in viewers. A great example of this rise in viewership is NickMercs. According to twitchtracker, before March 13, NickMercs average viewers were only around 20,000. Now, Nick averages a whopping 52,000 viewers. It is not only the viewers that have increased, streamers are increasing too. Twitch channels, since March 13, have about doubled from 50,000 to now 90,000 active channels. The rise in channels and viewers simply shows that being a streamer is becoming a more valid choice as a job.

An OHS Magnet poll about COVID-19 and gaming was sent out to OHS students, who play video games. Students report 75 percent prefer playing games with their friends. This is due to the fact that they have to limit physical contact to those that they hang out with. So, they found gaming to be a way that they can stay in touch with each other. Over half responded that they play around three to five hours of video games a day.

Senior Connor Whalen is an avid gamer. He spent most of his free time playing video games including racing games, like Forza, and first-person shooters, like Call of Duty. Whalen thinks that the best way to play video games is to do it with friends. He spends three to four hours every day playing video games with his friends. When asked why he plays video games Whalen said, “I find it fun especially when you’re playing with people that you know.” Since quarantine, Whalen has found himself increasing the amount of time in which he spends playing video games. He said, “Quite a bit more. Now that I’m home all the time, I’m not always able to go out and do other activities.” Whalen has found gaming as a substitute for his other activities. Playing video games is not the only thing that is keeping him entertained, but it is one of the main things that he does. The other way that he uses his free time is watching Youtube. He watches a channel by the name of Vanossgaming, who primarily posts gaming content, whenever Whalen is not gaming.

Quarantine has changed so many of people’s lives. Video games are a way for all of these people to connect, once again, with their friends and family. The many varieties of video games, from simple platformers to casual racing games, to fast-paced, high skill games like Call of Duty, everyone can easily hop on a game and play. Whether it is solo or with friends, there are a lot of games that everyone can play according to their tastes. This factor is shown through the immense rise in video game popularity.