EE REVEALS HOW ONLINE GAMING BOOSTS ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AHEAD OF VALENTINE’S DAY

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• New research from EE reveals 58% of Brits claim online gaming boosts romantic relationships, with 28% of couples now regularly gaming together at least once a week
• With its popularity growing over lockdown, and the cost of traditional approaches to dating rising, over a fifth of 16–24-year-olds are now more likely to online game on a date night over going out for dinner, to the cinema or having a night in watching a movie
• What’s more, Brits looking for potential partners who have similar gaming interests, now see those with a love of gaming overtaking star signs as an important compatibility trait
• As online gaming is only set to get bigger – EE is offering Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as an Inclusive Extra with selected mobile plans when customers order the latest Samsung Galaxy S23 Series on its network
• EE has also teamed up with popular social media gaming couple, Adam Lyne, and Jessie Jackson, who met while online gaming, to share tips and advice on how gaming has helped in relationships

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, EE today revealed how online gaming can play a vital role in the nation’s romances. With over half of Brit couples (58%) claiming gaming online has boosted their romantic relationships, EE is offering inclusive access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with selected mobile plans when customers order the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Series.

With over a fifth of 16–24-year-olds revealing they are now more likely to online game on a date night over going out for dinner, to the cinema or having a night in watching a movie, the findings, commissioned ahead of the most romantic day of the year also uncovered 52% of Brits find online gaming diffuses tensions or arguments and helps to keep the peace in relationships. Meanwhile, 28% of UK couples now regularly game together at least once a week.

The timely news for gaming couples arrives as pre-orders go live for the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Series, with EE, the unrivalled network for gaming offering Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as an Inclusive Benefit, unlocking 100s of high-quality games for them to play across console, PC and Cloud, when ordered with EE’s All Rounder and Full Works mobile plans.

EE is also seeing online gaming as a key driver for usage ‘peaks’ on its network over the past 12 months, and over half of all Brits (56%) state they now spend more time gaming online with friends since the beginning of the pandemic.

Alistair Wilson, Director of Devices and Partnerships at EE, said: “It’s clear that online gaming is not only growing rapidly in popularity but it is also playing an even bigger role in our relationships - with couples now going head-to-head more than ever. And with Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re excited to offer Samsung’s latest Galaxy S23 flagship on EE’s All Rounder plan, unlocking even more gaming possibilities with an Xbox Games Pass Ultimate Inclusive Extra - helping passionate online gamers game from anywhere on EE’s unrivalled network for gaming.”

To help inspire the next generation of budding gaming couples, EE has teamed up with popular social media online gamers, Adam Lyne, and Jessie Jackson, to release top tips etc ultimate guide to get the most out of relationships using the power of gaming. The top four tips from the couple, who met through online gaming, include:

• Be patient with each other when online gaming and don’t get frustrated when your partner isn’t an expert at the same game as you, it’s more fun when it’s competitive so you could spend an evening teaching each other tips and tricks on your favourite games.
• Find the right balance between online gaming together and enjoying other date nights such as going to a restaurant or the movies
• Online gaming helps couples spend time together and communicate, so work out a time that works for you to online game together once or twice a week
• Mix up the genres of games you play based on the day of the week or mood, such as action and adventure on a Friday and puzzle games on a Saturday

 The benefits of online gaming are explicit as the EE research findings also suggest:

• 44% of Brits find ‘an interest in online gaming’ to be an attractive romantic quality
• Nearly two thirds (64%) of Brits agree that gaming helps them to relax and improves their relationships with others
• 1 in 10 considering it as the number one most important compatibility trait in a potential partner - even suppressing more traditional traits, including a well-matched star sign
• Puzzles and party games are the number one choice for couples to play together with sports and multiplayer racing games following closely behind.

With the Samsung Galaxy S23 built for gaming on-the-go, EE Customers can save £72 on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate across the life of the All Rounder plan on EE’s superfast 5G network, meaning you can game from anywhere. Particularly key for the 77% of Brits who consider a strong connection allows them to feel closer to their partner, even when apart.

As a further commitment to romantic gamers, EE mobile customers will receive a 10% discount if they take EE home broadband at the same time and with EE’s additional line discount, customers will receive even great savings when taking out additional devices, perfect for couples who live and game together.

For more information on the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Series on EE, and EE’s Inclusive Extras, please visit ee.co.uk/Samsung