Young American men are facing a growing loneliness problem, with their social circles shrinking and suicide rates remaining higher than those of their female peers. At the same time, video games have emerged as one of the few spaces where many young men continue to gather, regardless of race or political ideology.
According to a 2017 Pew Research Center study cited by video game expert George E. Osborn, 72% of men under 30 play video games either often or sometimes.
Osborn, the founder of Half-Space Consulting, advises governments and nonprofit organizations on the social impact of gaming. His new book, Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence, examines how political and anti-democratic movements have used gaming communities to spread their ideas.
From Gamergate to Political Radicalization
Osborn identifies the 2014 Gamergate controversy as an important turning point in the relationship between gaming communities and political movements.
The controversy involved widespread online harassment targeting prominent women in the gaming industry, with participants arguing that they were challenging ethical problems in video game journalism.
According to Osborn, former Breitbart executive Steve Bannon recognized the political potential of the movement. Breitbart provided supportive coverage, while Bannon viewed parts of the gaming community as a potential recruiting pool for the emerging alt-right.
Osborn argues that some of the online communities associated with Gamergate later became connected to groups involved in the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
His broader argument is that Bannon understood how online gaming communities could be mobilized. Rather than simply imposing political messages from the top down, political actors could amplify existing frustrations within those communities and use them to introduce far-right ideas into the wider online media environment.
Gaming Communities Can Also Create Positive Change
Despite these concerns, Osborn believes gaming communities have enormous potential to produce positive social outcomes.
Video games can help players explore complicated subjects, including pandemics, authoritarian governments and climate change. They can also create connections between people and potentially reduce feelings of isolation.
However, Osborn argues that governments and institutions need to understand gaming culture before attempting to engage with it.
U.S. Government Tried Using Games to Fight Disinformation
One example came in 2024, when the U.S. State Department worked with The Global Game Jam on an initiative called Ctrl+Alt+Disinfo.
The project encouraged developers to create games designed to help players recognize and understand disinformation.
Among the resulting projects was Medieval Courier, which follows a clever messenger fox who alters communications between rival courts. Another game, My Little Conspiracy, places players in the role of an online moderator dealing with conspiracy-related content.
The initiative later lost government funding after Donald Trump began his second presidential term in 2025 and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, commonly known as DOGE, made cuts to the program.
Gaming Has Expanded Beyond Young Men
The gaming industry’s audience has changed dramatically over the past several decades.
During the 1980s and 1990s, video games were often marketed toward families and young men interested in new technology. The rise of smartphones, digital distribution platforms such as Steam and the economic pressures following the financial crisis pushed game companies to pursue a much broader audience.
Today, the global gaming population has reached roughly 3.6 billion people. In the United States, men and women are represented at nearly equal levels, while the average gamer is now in their late 30s or early 40s.
Changing Gaming Culture Created New Grievances
Osborn argues that the industry’s transformation also contributed to a sense of frustration among some younger male gamers.
Some felt that an industry once built around their interests had moved away from them. That dissatisfaction created an opening for political movements looking for communities that could be mobilized around shared grievances.
Gamers can be particularly attractive targets because video games emphasize personal agency.
Unlike many other forms of entertainment, games require players to actively participate. Even a highly linear game gives players some control over how they experience its world.
That participation can make players feel like contributors rather than passive consumers.
Why Political Movements Target Gaming Communities
The sense of participation created by games can also strengthen relationships between players.
Gamers frequently communicate about strategies, characters, stories and their emotional experiences with games. Those conversations can develop into strong communities that exist beyond the games themselves.
Osborn argues that Bannon understood this dynamic.
Instead of relying entirely on traditional political propaganda, Bannon’s strategy was to amplify existing frustrations within gaming communities. This approach could make participants feel that they were discovering and advancing ideas themselves rather than simply receiving political messaging.
Osborn contrasts this with attempts by mainstream political figures to enter gaming spaces without fully understanding their culture, including Kamala Harris’s unsuccessful Fortnite-related outreach during the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Gaming Can Also Support Social and Environmental Causes
There are also examples of gaming communities being successfully mobilized for constructive purposes.
The United Nations’ Playing for the Planet Alliance has reached hundreds of millions of players by encouraging game developers to introduce environmental themes and activities into their titles.
Fundraising has also demonstrated the influence of gaming audiences. Epic Games’ Fortnite campaigns have generated significant donations for humanitarian causes, including fundraising for the Red Cross.
Osborn argues that democratic governments and institutions have yet to fully recognize the strategic potential of gaming communities, even though successful examples already exist.
Video Games May Replace Lost “Third Spaces”
For many young men, video games have increasingly become substitutes for traditional “third spaces” — places outside home and work or school where people can regularly socialize.
Community organizations, clubs and youth spaces have declined in many areas, leaving fewer opportunities for young people to form relationships in person.
Video games can fill part of that gap because they allow people to interact while participating in a shared activity.
Gaming During the Pandemic Helped Combat Loneliness
Osborn also points to work he carried out with the UK government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative encouraged gaming companies to ask players to spend an hour playing an online game with a friend or family member.
Later polling suggested that UK players who participated in gaming were about 10 percentage points more likely to say that games helped them feel less lonely.
For Osborn, the success of the campaign came partly from avoiding overly centralized messaging.
Rather than governments dictating how people should use games, the approach allowed gaming communities to take the idea and adapt it themselves.
The Future of Gaming and Social Connection
Video games can present risks when online communities are exploited by extremist or political movements. But the same communities can also provide powerful opportunities for connection, education and positive social action.