MANILA - About 4 in 5 "millennials" or those aged between 23 and 28 play online games, according to a survey by a political consulting firm.

Out of 1,200 millennials polled by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc., 81.6 percent said they play online games while 18.4 said otherwise.

Among those who answered in the affirmative, a third said they play every day, another third said they do so 2 to 6 times a week, and 18.33 percent said they play once a week.

About 55.8 percent considered themselves as competitive players, said PUBLiCUS.

The top reason for playing games is to reduce stress (37.1 percent), followed by interaction with friends (22.1 percent).

The March 7 to 16 survey was conducted using a "structured questionnaire," and the 1,200 respondents were chosen by Singapore-based firm Lightspeed Research, said PUBLiCUS Asia.

The respondents were registered voters who were active online, i.e. they had at least one social media account which they followed at least twice a week.

PUBLiCUS Asia said the survey's online methodology did not guarantee random sampling.

Tech giants Google and Microsoft have announced plans to offer game streaming services as the US video game industry generated a record $43.4 billion in revenue in 2018.

This was up 18 percent from the prior year, according to data released by the Entertainment Software Association and NPD Group.

PC makers also said that while sales of traditional desktops and laptops were flatlining, sales of computers that were tailored to gamers were surging.

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