Microsoft Claims 79% of Gamers Want AI Help — But It Only Asked 1,500 People
Gaming’s on the upswing: Xbox’s Culture of Play report finds most people believe the medium is getting better.
Xbox had Edelman Data & Intelligence put together a big, feelings-forward survey about how people play games. The headline bits are all about how gaming makes us happy and connected. The eyebrow-raiser is a stat Xbox didn’t put on the splashy infographic: most respondents say they’re cool with AI stepping in to help.
The number Xbox didn’t lead with
Buried in the press assets, not on the Xbox Wire post or the front-facing infographic, is this: 79% of surveyed players said they are open to help from AI. That phrasing is doing a lot of work. I asked Microsoft what exactly counts as 'help' here and how it was framed in the questionnaire.
Is that your standard in-game hint goblin that pipes up four seconds after you start a puzzle? Maybe. Is it Microsoft Copilot or Gaming Copilot, which aim to offer guidance but, in my experience, are better at popping up at the worst time? Could be. Or does it mean letting an integrated AI take the controller entirely and play for you, an idea Sony floated in an old patent? That would be a very different kind of 'help.' Personally, the only AI assist I reliably want is a button that uninstalls the assistant.
Who was asked, and when
The survey hit 1,500 adult gamers in the US — a modest sample, statistically speaking — and ran online for about 20 minutes per person between June 25 and July 2, 2025. If you do the quick math, that 79% AI-open crowd is roughly 1,185 people.
The warm-and-fuzzy headline stuff
Microsoft’s summary leans on the idea that gaming feels more meaningful than the rest of our feed-scrolling lives. Honestly, this pull quote is hard to argue with:
"We spend more time than ever scrolling, swiping, and streaming. Most of it passes by in a blur, and habits like doom-scrolling fill the time but leave us feeling empty."
Across the board, 68% said gaming is more emotionally fulfilling than their other hobbies. Three in four said they feel like they are doing something meaningful when they play. Six in ten claim they’ve made lifelong friends through games. And 71% hope to pass their love of gaming on to the next generation. If the shifting denominators on these percentages make your eye twitch, I get it — the report’s usage jumps around a bit.
How Xbox slices players
Microsoft groups respondents into three buckets: Core Players, who spend most of their entertainment time gaming and follow gaming news closely; Enthusiastic Players, who dedicate about a quarter to half of their entertainment time to games and keep an eye on trends; and Casual Players, who mostly play on phones or tablets and rarely follow gaming news.
Among Xbox console owners in the sample, 87% say gaming is one of their main hobbies — part of who they are. The other 13%? Probably more casual, or maybe that Xbox is pulling double duty as a streaming box. No judgment; we’ve all been there.
What players say they want
- 54% want games that help them relax
- 52% say gaming helps them stay connected to friends
- 49% want games that are challenging
- 46% want a sense of accomplishment
- 44% want a good story
- 65% say gaming is more fun today than when they first started
Business context worth noting
All this drops while Microsoft says Xbox hardware revenue is down 29%. Content and services — think Game Pass — ticked up 1%, but that gain was softened by a dip in first-party output. The vibe may be strong, but the ledger is a little less cheerful.