PlayStation Australia have announced that PlayStation Plus, their online subscription portal to the realm of online gaming on PlayStation, will be free this weekend, October 2nd to 4th, in celebration of the fact that gaming helped people stay connected over the past year.

The Telsyte Australian Subscription Entertainment Study 2021, not a fun name but accurate, found that streaming services, for sport and movies grew, but so did gaming, you can read the full report here, but here are the highlights.

Gaming subscriptions grew 13%, increasing from 6.2m gamers to 7m, meaning more people are playing online, or taking advantage of gaming services. Here are some more facts:

• Over half (52%) of Australian gamers have used online gaming to stay connected to people they haven’t been able to see over the last 18-months

• One in two (51%) Australians agree that online gaming has a positive effect on their social life.

• One in four (25%) gamers are using online gaming as their preferred form of communication to stay connected with friends and family over any other communications platforms.

  • 17% choosing to connect through gaming more than online video call.

  • 14% using it more than phone calls.

  • 14% choosing gaming over social media platforms.

  • 12% opting to stay connected through gaming over texting.

• Nearly 1 in 10 Australians (8%) surveyed have formed a romantic partnership or bonded with their partner through online gaming.

While numbers like that may be a little confusing to some, the basic gist is that more Australians are gaming than ever before, be it on the PlayStation family of platforms, or elsewhere and with growth like that, things can only get better for us all.