By Sam Riley

Quarantine has significantly affected the video game industry. The industry and many games’ player bases have experienced a boom, since people have been forced to stay in their homes. Online games have been a great way to connect with friends during quarantine as well, but many aspects of the video game industry have actually suffered because of the coronavirus. 

As quarantine continues, companies like Xbox have acknowledged the surge of people playing online, saying that “record numbers” of people are logging on.

I have noticed a similar trend as well, with many more people showing up to play than usual. Personally, before the quarantine started, I hadn’t turned on my Xbox or our family Wii in a few months. But that quickly changed as the weeks of quarantine went on, and I hadn’t talked with some of my friends for a while. Video games are one of the best ways to connect right now, because even if you do call a friend up, the conversation can dry up quickly, so playing games together is a great way to actually have memorable moments with your friends other than seeing them physically. As Will Burford (20’) puts it, “Playing games with my friends has been the most fun way to stay connected during the quarantine.”  

Although games are a great outlet to have, sometimes they can be taken too far, as with most forms of entertainment. Right now, with all the time we spend staring at screens during school, a little time away from the screen wouldn’t be detrimental. With the line between school and home blurred, it can also be hard to keep a decent sleep schedule, and staying up late into the night playing video games doesn’t help. 

With a surge of engaging, free multiplayer battle royale games like Call of Duty: Warzone and Fortnite, it has never been easier to get in a game with your friends. In many of these games, you can even play with friends that have a PS4, while you have an Xbox. This cross-platform play used to not be possible, but it’s exactly the type of accessibility people need right now. Andrew Bullock (‘20) says that “I downloaded Warzone for free, and the social aspect of playing with people on Xbox and PS4 is what has kept me playing.” There are countless other online games people are playing with their friends as well, like Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto V, and Rainbow Six Siege.

While online games are a great way to connect with friends and be entertained, people are still playing single-player games as well, getting invested in rich stories during their quarantine. Games like the Final Fantasy 7 remake or Doom Eternal are extremely popular single-player games right now. Surprisingly, to me at least, Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch has become wildly popular. Isa Lagazzi (‘20), who has been playing Animal Crossing with her family, says that “it’s made quarantine easier to get through, since the game keeps us together by keeping us apart.” The game’s launch sales in the U.S. have outdone any Mario or Zelda games, some of the largest franchises in the world. This particular game launched right as certain areas went into quarantine, giving fans a chance to get their hands on the game. 

Where Animal Crossing: New Horizons is thriving, many other games and gaming events are suffering. Many events that are held to capture people’s interest in new games, like E3 and Gamescom, have all been canceled. Games that were expected to sell well, like The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima, have also been delayed due in part to COVID-19. This virus has had an adverse effect on the current market for games, while giving older games chances to boom in popularity once again.

There have also been some interesting side effects due to this video game boom, such as the issue of bandwidth usage. Increased video game playing and general internet usage raised concerns that critical bandwidth needed in medical facilities wouldn’t be provided. This issue was mitigated once there were caps put on download speeds by internet service providers.

Featured image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images.