Why Brands Should Care About the French Gaming Audience in 2026
Video games are no longer a niche passion, but a fully mainstream medium in France. This shift is clearly highlighted in the latest Essentiel du Jeu Vidéo 2025 report from SELL. In 2025, more than 40 million people in France played video games, representing over 70% of the population. These figures firmly position gaming as one of the country’s most influential cultural and media ecosystems for brands today.
This audience is broad, diverse, and far from niche. The average player is around 40 years old, nearly half are women, and 88% are adults, proving that gaming reaches well beyond Gen Z and so-called “hardcore” players. Mobile is the #1 gaming device, making play more accessible than ever and embedding gaming naturally into daily routines.
Just as important, gaming is deeply social. Most players play with others—friends, family, or children—turning video games into shared experiences rather than isolated ones. Communities form inside games, conversations extend beyond them, and players increasingly see gaming as part of their identity, especially among younger generations.
For brands, gaming is a unique environment: high attention, long dwell time, repeated exposure, and strong emotional engagement. Unlike traditional advertising, brand experiences in games can feel native, interactive, and additive to the player experience — not interruptive.
In a media landscape where attention is harder than ever to earn, gaming stands out as a place where audiences are present, engaged, and open to meaningful interactions.
Want to explore how your brand can connect with players in authentic, high-impact ways? Discover how Gameloft for brands helps advertisers turn play into performance.
Source: SELL – L’Essentiel du Jeu Vidéo 2025 (with Médiamétrie)
