The aim of this study was to investigate middle school students’ computer game habits, especially in relation to their oral and written knowledge of English as a school subject. A central issue was to search for indications of whether students’ computer game playing could have a positive effect on their knowledge level of English. A further aim was to study how teachers of English may relate to the use of computer games in teaching. The study is based on student questionnaires and on interviews with their teachers of English. Altogether, the participants included three teachers and 54 students, 25 of whom were boys and 29 girls. The results demonstrated that 91 % of the participant students play computer games in their spare time. The study also reveals considerable differences in the playing habits of boys and girls. Boys primarily play online and multiplayer games, while girls to a higher extent choose single player games. By these students’ teachers of English the knowledge level was assessed to be high among those spending much time on playing computer games. The boys were assessed as having a higher level of English, which may be due to the longer time they devote to playing and to their greater use of online and multiplayer games. There are of course a number of underlying variables, which may have had a greater effect on the result but have not been studied, such as TV-watching habits. Still, the result offers an interesting guideline for further studies. The interviewed teachers saw a learning potential in computer games and were positive to a future use of these, even though none of them used games in their teaching.