Wondering what are the top gaming cities are in the United States? How about the best global cities to watch gamers? We’ve pulled together all the top gaming stats along with which gaming consoles are the preferred ones.
When it comes to gaming, Seattle is still the top city for gamers in the United States. Being home to gaming studios such as 343 Industries, Nintendo, PopCap Games, and Bungie doesn’t hurt keeping it at the top of the chart. Even Twitch, the streaming gaming platform has quite an impressive office in Seattle.
Study Breakdown
The study compared the 100 largest cities in the United States across 23 top indicators of gamer-friendliness. This includes everything from average internet speed to the number of e-sports tournaments held there and the number of videogame stores per capita.
The top 10 best gaming cities in America are:
- Seattle
- Irvine, California
- Los Angeles
- Orlando
- Atlanta
- New York City
- San Jose
- San Francisco
- Austin
- Raleigh, North Carolina
Surprisingly, New Jersey only ranked 40th (Jersey City, NJ) and 82nd (Newark, NJ) on the charts even though the state is pretty synonymous with Vegas when it comes to gaming. NJ Online casino compares pretty well with Vegas ones for people on the East Coast.
Gaming Revenue
Gaming is a huge industry with eSports worldwide revenue climbing from $865 million to over $1 billion in 2019. Expectations are for revenue to hit over $1.6 billion by 2021 showing why cities are now clamoring to bring more gaming events and industry to them.
One big example is how Full Sail University built what they call the “Fortress,” a $6 million eSports arena to its Winter Park campus that is an impressive 11,200 square feet.
Most Popular Consoles
Within the Top 10 cities, the study broke down which consoles were the favorites for 2020.
Overall Best Gaming Console
PlayStation 4 Pro
Best Multimedia Gaming Console
Xbox One S
Best Portable Gaming Console
Nintendo Switch
Best Gaming Console for Enthusiasts
Xbox One X
Best Retro Gaming Console
Sega Genesis Mini
Global Gaming
Since the gaming world has turned into a $135 billion industry, competitions have gone global and watching has gotten just as big as playing. Now, when you get on a Steam server, it’s no surprise to meet gamers speaking Russian, Portuguese, Chinese or many other languages showing the global phenomenon it has become.
The top 10 global cities to watch the best gamers in action are:
Seoul, South Korea.
South Korea has been unparalleled when it comes to the social influence of gaming. It has become the world’s capital for eSports events with several dedicated television stations.
Tokyo, Japan
Game developers in Japan have been a huge force in gaming turning into the billion dollar industry it is. Nintendo, Sega and Capcom have become household names all over the world.
Hangzhou, China
Hangzhou is the top gaming city in China now that they have built the amazingly over the top $280 million eSports town. The city will soon be hosting the 2022 Asian Games with the city building 14 new eSports facilities such as an eSports academy and theme park.
Malmö, Sweden
Located in the south of Sweden, this city is the country’s IT hub with a very robust gaming infrastructure. Massive and Mojang (Minecraft) has attracted some of the top industry talent out there. The University near the city is training the next generations to pioneer future games.
Bucharest, Romania
Along with having a thriving gaming community, Bucharest has world-class internet speeds which have made their annual Bucharest Gaming Week a huge draw. Ubisoft keeps a very major presence here.
Singapore, Republic of Singapore
Gamers in Singapore actually spend more time gaming weekly than those in Japan or South Korea. Their time is split up between consoles, PCs, and smartphones.
Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver boasts over 170 game development studios such as EA, Microsoft, Nintendo along with a variety of top mobile app developers.
Budapest, Hungary
After Budapest hosted the V4 Future Sports Festival, they locked in their reputation as a truly legit gaming city. “League of Legends” and “Counter-Strike: Go” dominate the scene there. 58 percent of the population between the ages of 18 and 65 are gamers.
London, England
The annual London Games Festival cemented the city as a huge industry influencer with Red Bull dominating the eSports scene. Fighting and soccer games dominate this city.
São Paulo, Brazil
One of the fastest-growing game markets in the world is Latin America with a nearly 20 percent growth in 2019. The city hosts the BIG Festival and continues to be a growing power in the gaming industry. There are nearly 80 million gamers in Brazil alone who spend approximately $1.8 billion in 2019.
Moscow, Russia might soon push its way into the top 10 after the government there created an eSports Federation along with launching an annual eSports conference in the city. Granted, much of this is due to rampant online piracy with “Dota 2” being the most popular game there with “Counter-Strike: Go” and “Clash Royale” coming right behind.