Unsurprisingly, many people have a dated or stereotyped view of who gamers are and how they play. But the gaming audience is vast and diverse, both in terms of who plays, how they play and what they want from the gaming experience.

Today, more than 160 million adults in the U.S. identify themselves as gamers. The average gamer is 33 years old and is as likely to be female as male, per the Entertainment Software Association’s annual gamer profile.

The truth is, for a majority of people, video games are part of their daily lives. They turn to games to bring them joy, relieve their daily stress, stimulate themselves mentally and connect with others. In fact, Twitch found that 68% of its gamers say gaming is a core part of their identity, and 81% believe gaming bridges gaps between countries and cultures.

Twitch breaks the gaming audience down in two different ways—by how gaming fits in their lives, and by the different ways they actually play games.

Let’s start with the role of gaming in their lives. Hardcore gamers—the people who live and breathe gaming—account for about a fifth of gamers overall. But they also make up about a third of the people on Twitch. Gaming is central to their lives and may be their primary form of entertainment. The most hardcore gamers on Twitch spend an average of 34 hours a week gaming across different devices.

Not everyone is so dedicated. But that doesn’t mean they’re not enthusiasts. About half of gamers overall are midcore, meaning they have a few games that they play on a regular basis. Casual gamers play games like puzzles and may dabble in video games. Hypercasual gamers, meanwhile, only play games to pass the time between other activities, like during their morning commute or while waiting in line for coffee.

Twitch also segments that gaming audience into four categories based on how they play.

Completionists stop at nothing to complete every mission, collect every item and earn every achievement a game has to offer. Competitive gamers want to see their name at the top of the leaderboard and thrive in player vs. player settings. Cooperative gamers prefer multiplayer games that let them join with their teammates to work toward a common goal. Finally, Adventurers are often solo players who love to get lost in a game’s story mode.

Video games were once thought of as cut-and-dry, win-or-lose, shoot-or-get-shot, one-way experiences. But it’s not all about pwning noobs anymore.

Today, there’s a game for every person, occasion, want and need. People can be themselves and know that there are games that will invite, appeal to and celebrate those traits.

So, what do gamers want and need and how can brands fit into that picture?

In a survey by Twitch Ads, video game fans identified escape as a primary reason to play games. But games also empower people to forge their own identities and build a sense of belonging.

Games also help people do things they may not have a chance to do in the real world—like seek out the spotlight and make friends, according to the same survey. An overworked single dad, for example, may not have the time to play touch football with his friends on the weekend, but can join them after the kids are asleep for a game of Madden NFL.

Some of the most popular genres of gaming today indicate even more reasons people are flocking to games.

Cozy gaming lets players choose gentler scenarios over battlegrounds. In games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, people can tend to virtual gardens, decorate digital homes and even design entire worlds.

These newer genres of games provide players with coping strategies for stress relief and tools for creative self-expression, and open the door to new audiences, like non-thrill-seeking players.

Similarly, choose-your-own-adventure games speak to the modern gamer’s desire to write their own story rather than be sucked into the standard win-or-lose structure. Games like AI Dungeon, which infuse choose-your-own-adventure with AI, also hint at a fresh direction for gaming that’s tuned in to what’s going on in tech.

Finally, with over 71% of Gen Z spending over a quarter of their time playing video games and watching video game content, according to Newzoo, games that explore topics like mental health, gender and sexuality have emerged. Gaming has become a vehicle for facilitating positive play and dialogue.

The impact of video games can be seen in every other type of entertainment and media, from film and TV to books, art and even fashion.

Certainly, video game adaptations are nothing new for Hollywood, but the success of some has been spotty—think Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter or Resident Evil. But as prestige video games (popularly referred to as AAA in the gaming industry) take on richer, more complex narratives and feature more robust character development, they’ve become formidable fodder for content by other industries.

The success of The Last of Us is a stellar example. The game was set apart by its ability to mix action, story and protagonists who didn’t look like or behave like typical action game characters, and it went on to sell tens of millions of copies. It not only spawned a video game sequel, but also a limited-edition comic and a much-honored HBO series. The TV version succeeded in large part because it stayed loyal to the game’s storytelling.

But the influence of video games goes beyond simply adapting characters and game plots into movies. The best-selling novel Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow takes place in the world of game development. The action-comedy movie Free Guy is set in a massively multiplayer game. And the U.K.’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has sold out Royal Albert Hall for orchestral concerts of video game soundtracks.

While playing video games can be a solo or multiplayer experience, the community surrounding a video game can be just as important as the game itself. Either way, gaming serves people by helping them understand who they are, how they express themselves and where they feel seen.

In the gaming world, people can amplify what makes them different and through that, find their tribe.

In fact, according to a Twitch Ads research study exploring diversity in gaming, feeling connected to the community and feeling welcomed by the community are two of the largest factors gamers consider when deciding which game to play or which streamer to watch.

Online, building a safe haven for people of diverse identities is becoming more and more top of mind for the companies developing and publishing video games as well as the brands that engage with gaming communities. In fact, gamers want brands to do their part by sponsoring more gamers from diverse backgrounds, highlighting more diversity in advertising campaigns, and, perhaps most important, working with gamers, streamers and communities that create positive environments for diverse gamers.

Services like Twitch act as a vehicle for this kind of community-building, while offline, events like TwitchCon bring streamers and viewers together to help people connect in person. The gamer get-together celebrates the different ways people interact with games (playing, watching, cosplaying, etc.) and holds panels on topics like the importance of LGBTQIA+ representation, safe ways to gather communities and inclusive content creation.

Player safety is of the utmost concern. And features that let people choose who they game with prioritize this. In a testament to the strength of the communities that gaming is building, 81% of gamers find joy in helping others feel safe when they experience bigotry, according to Twitch’s Diversity in Gaming and Livestreaming report. This is important for many groups of gamers who turn to gaming to express their personality and talents freely, as well as to find others who want the same.