PC gamers spent $4.5 billion, equivalent to the defense budget of Denmark, on kit last year

When it comes to PC gamers, the budget set aside for a good gaming PC boils down to availability of funds. When funds are available, the sky is the limit when it comes to high end gaming builds.

With modifications galore to choose from and custom builds available in more shops, gamers have begun spending more money on building the perfect PC.

For many people, their PC is the most expensive possession they have. They are proud of it and although no one has a “perfect” PC, we should all attempt a little compassion when commenting on others builds. Be a community, not a mosh pit of opinions. Celebrate our PCs!

— JayzTwoCents (@JayzTwoCents) August 19, 2020

Combined, PC gamers in the United States of America have spent approximately $4.5 billion on new hardware, peripherals and gaming accessories in 2020. That's an increase of 62 percent from 2019. According to reports, the total sum spent on hardware is equivalent to the defense budget of Denmark; that's quite the spending capability.

Danish Defence budget (Image Via Wikipedia)

This recent report comes from The NPD Group (via Guru3D), and it highlights the massive growth of PC gamers over the course of the last 12 months. The amount of money spent on gaming accessories and periphirals, such as gaming keyboards/mouse/headsets, increased by an astounding 81 percent, while complete systems and components witnessed an increase of 57 percent.

Mat Piscatella, NPD's video game analyst stated,

"PC gaming is the most innovative, open, and content-diverse segment in the video game industry. It is also one of the most accessible, as many households have a desktop or laptop computer."

Despite being one of the most accessible ways to enjoy video games, data suggests that while revenue may be shooting through the roof, the actual number of gamers only grew by four percent in 2020.

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PC Gamers spend a lot of time in-game

It comes as no surprise that during a global lockdown, many individuals turned towards gaming to keep mental health in check and unwind after a day of hard work. According to reports, the time spent in-game by players doubled in 2020, which allowed for PC gamers to cash in on some extra grinding hours.

The time players are spending in-game has nearly doubled this year. https://t.co/ZVcpFEDuV6

— PC Gamer (@pcgamer) December 10, 2020

Owing to the Pandemic, people were forced to stay indoors and find ways to stay entertained. It's safe to say that gaming on PCs and consoles played a huge part. It's no secret that companies such as AMD experienced a surge in revenue as lockdowns came into force worldwide

AMD has "more than 50% share" of high-end CPU sales globally https://t.co/GxXLXuGgwh pic.twitter.com/9PldBDEI3q

— PC Gamer (@pcgamer) April 29, 2020

However, there is a flipside to the situation. Due to the rise in demand, supply hasn't been able to cope up, following which prices of GPUs have risen on a global level. High prices and low supply have only been made worse due to organized scalping and cryptocurrency miners as well.

With PC gamers facing ever rising GPU costs, budget builds are not easy at present. While major GPU players are working hard with official partners to ensure smoother supply chains, the recent surge of Bitcoin is bound to further hamper the availability of GPUs, as new crytominers jump on the bandwagon.