New research into gamers is showing that they are getting older and more likely to be women. A spokesman for gamers’ social media network Pixwoo.com, which commissioned the research, said: 'The image most people have of a gamer is usually a young boy, holed up for hours in end in their bedroom, only stopping the game for food, drink and toilet breaks.

But these results show that the stereotype couldn’t be more wrong.

According to the study the average gamer is 35, married, earns £23k a year and plays for up to 12 hours a week. Women are just as likely to be gamers as men, but we are talking about fully grown adults who work, have a family and are in a relationship. It is fairly clear that gaming is no longer something reserved just for children and young adults. There are so many different types of games and consoles to play them on that there is something for all ages, the study said.

The study, of 2,000 Brits who consider themselves a ‘gamer’ found that they will spend a total of 12 hours and 32 minutes playing on some kind on console each week. But it is not all good news. The average gamer rows with their partner twice a week over playing. More than one in twenty of those in relationships say it is a constant source of their rows while 15 per cent have broken up with someone because of it.

The study also found the average video game fan has five online friends in the gaming community, with 29 per cent saying they have met at least one of those face-to-face. And while a third say they are most like to play games with ‘real-life’ friends in the same room, almost a quarter tend to play with friends remotely.