On coronavirus lockdown, gamers seek solace and community in video games

Now, as everything across the U.S. is being shut down and slowed down, the 25-year-old has her game controller in hand again. “I originally had every single weekend booked, and now I have nothing,” she said. For Kelley, an esports caster and host for games like "Pokémon," "Overwatch" and "Hearthstone," the worsening coronavirus pandemic has led to a halt in bookings and an array of cancellations for events. The Game Developer’s Conference, known as GDC, supposed to happen in March is now postponed to the summer. Big gaming convention E3 scheduled for June was called off until 2021.

   A person holding a video game controller.

"Now I'm spending a lot more time just playing games for fun because I don't have the same level of commitments," said Kelley.

In her newfound free time, Kelley plays multiplayer games like Pokemon Sword and Shield and Animal Crossing on her Nintendo Switch. 

Once a part-time gaming streamer, Kelley has since increased her streaming time from two to three times a week to nearly every day. "It's been an outlet for me to be creative but also to keep my mind working," she says

In the U.S., the average gamer plays for six hours and 46 minutes each week, slightly more than the global average of six hours and 20 minutes each week, according to a report on The State of Online Gaming. 

And that's likely increasing amid the wave of social distancing efforts and businesses closing doors across the country, as people of all ages look to technology to connect them with the world beyond their windows. 

"This isn’t just out of boredom but an intrinsic desire to be social. New gaming capabilities allow people to engage with one another virtually," said Nigel Burmeister, vice president of Limelight Networks, which helps deliver cloud-based content.