Move over Nintendo, as in-game microtransactions are now the hot-ticket items this holiday. According to a new study, almost half of U.S. kids will be asking parents for in-game currency like V-Bucks for Christmas this year. The research has revealed an emerging trend in video games.
Half of U.S. Kids Want In-Game Currency for Christmas 2025
According to a new study published by the Entertainment Software Association, children in the United States mostly just want in-game currency this holiday season. The surprising survey highlights a continued shift in the games industry, as many young players are gravitating towards live service titles over traditional AAA single-player projects.
In the study released by the ESA, over 43% of U.S. kids surveyed specifically said they were asking their parents for in-game currency for their Christmas gifts this year. “Three in five kids (ages 5-17) are asking for video games this holiday season. Of the top five specific video game-related requests from children, 43% are asking for in-game currency.”
As if those numbers weren’t surprising enough, the study also revealed that parents plan to spend more on video games this holiday than previous years. “Among parents who say they are planning to buy video game gifts this year, the average amount they intend to spend on video games is $736.83.” That’s a lot of V-Bucks and Robux!
Live Service Games Continue to Outpace AAA Titles
While that many kids wanting in-game currency for Christmas might be shocking at first, it actually lines up with data trends across 2025. For example, in October there was a study published by Circana that revealed that U.S. gamers are no longer buying games. Specifically, only 12% of consumers buy a single video game all year. A staggering 33% of U.S.-based players don’t buy any games at all in a 12-month period.
In that study, it was also revealed that a big reason for this shift was the continued popularity of live service games such as Roblox and Fortnite. In this year alone, Roblox broke a major milestone by reaching over 47.3 million concurrent users in a single day. This even beat out Steam’s all-time peak user record. However, the other impressive game here is Fortnite. Despite launching in 2017, the battle royale has continued to maintain millions of daily active users month over month.
The Epic Games live service title has also built a thriving in-game economy. Many loyal players have now built up years’ worth of skins and special crossover cosmetics in their accounts. With Fortnitemares 2025 bringing heavy hitters such as Scream Ghostface, Scooby-Doo, and Wednesday Addams, players are spending a lot of money in the online shooter. Not to mention the current Fortnite Simpsons season, which has seen the game amass its most active player numbers in months.
What the ESA Study Means for the Future of Gaming
So what do we take away from this latest ESA study? Live service games are not a fad. Younger players are overwhelmingly choosing to spend money on in-game currency over traditional AAA games.
Suddenly Sony PlayStation doesn’t look all that crazy for going all in on live service. Granted, I know Concord was a disaster. But the data doesn’t lie, and there is a reason Sony are investing their studios so heavily into these gaming platforms.
The post Almost 50% of U.S. Kids Are Asking for In-Game Currency This Christmas as Roblox & Fortnite Continue to Dominate appeared first on VICE.
