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Game companies are missing a trick when it comes to catering to older games, says Blaze CEO Andrew Byatt.
Speaking in a piece on GamesIndustry.biz, Byatt – whose company has the Evercade and Super Pocket devices in its library – addresses new research which shows the world has a growing population of ageing gamers.
According to analyst firm Ampere Analysis, there were 51.89 million gamers aged over 55 across Western Europe in 2025, and that figure is set to rise to 56.9 million by 2031. These represent a growth market, says Blaze's boss.
"We find there's a lot of lapsed gamers," Byatt says. "They really want to re-experience stuff that they did when they were younger. If all developers are focusing on these huge cinematic experiences, and they're aiming at teenagers and [people in their] early 20s, that kind of age group, then I think they are missing a trick."
The Evercade range, which focuses on retro experiences delivered via physical carts, caters for this sector of the market, argues Byatt – a sector with plenty of disposable income, but less time than younger players. "They've got busy jobs and everything else. And actually these retro experiences are good for that."
The Evercade range – which, alongside the budget-friendly Super Pocket series, also includes the Evercade VS and Evercade Alpha – is perfectly suited to hitting older players, says Byatt. He also points to the music and movie industries as an example of how gaming could service older gamers.
"I've always had a bit of a frustration with the difference between gaming and music and film," he says. "Music and film is so well curated and accessible, and you can find almost everything from every year using different services... And I think gaming just hasn't really done that."
He also feels that retro games aren't the only way to cater for the needs of older players. "Retro is obviously a natural fit for these types of games, but we do have modern retro as well. We publish stuff from people developing for old systems that are still doing that today, and we also have some indie stuff, which is very retro-themed. But I think that there is certainly a growing market – and they've got more money."
Blaze is expanding the Evercade family this year with the Nexus handheld. It is also about to launch two new portable devices themed around the C64 and ZX Spectrum.