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How Much Is the Gaming Industry Worth in 2021?Once upon a time, in our very own galaxy, the first ever commercial arcadegame Computer Space was released. It was a stepping stone and it had toprepare the world for what was to come – the video game mania.The craze hit the world just a year later, in 1972, with the release of Pong,which was – you guessed it – an arcade version of ping pong. Since then, thevideo game industry has taken the world by storm and its revenue is onlygrowing.Which made us ask ourselves – how much is the gaming industry worth?You’ve probably asked yourself the very same question.We’ve got you covered.## How Much Is the Gaming Industry Worth? Think Billions * The global gaming market is set to reach $256.97 billion by 2025. * More than 2.5 billion people worldwide play games. * In 2020, the console gaming market will experience its slowest growth rate since 2015. * Players will spend $4.5 billion on immersive games by the end of 2020. * Sony Interactive Entertainment’s estimated value is $13.4 billion. * eSports enjoy an audience of around 456 million people. * High-fidelity mobile games are on the rise.Those are some impressive numbers, right?Let’s check out the latest data! ### How Much Is the Gaming Industry Worth 2020 StatisticsTo keep you up to date about the recent happenings in the industry, we havecompiled some of the best statistics on the video game industry revenue for2020. Let’s dive right into it!#### 1. The global gaming market is forecast to worth $256.97 billion by 2025.(Source: Mordor Intelligence)Back in 2019, this figure was around $151.55 billion. Gaming industry statsshow that the industry is forecast to grow at a rate of 9.17% from 2020 to2025.#### 2. The video games market could be worth over $90 billion by the end of2020.(Source: We PC)Reports show that the video game industry revenue was $78.61 billion in 2017.According to stats on the video game industry revenue by year, the market isforecast to grow at a rate of 2.29% annually from 2020 to 2024. This willresult in an expected market volume of $100.56 billion by 2024.#### 3. Players will spend $4.5 billion on immersive games by the end of 2020.(Source: Business Wire)According to gaming industry statistics for 2020, immersive gaming, also knownas VR gaming, is about 20 times more interesting than traditional games.Companies like Bigscreen VR and AltspaceVR (two of the big shots in theindustry) are fast progressing into the future of virtual games, faster thanmany expect.#### 4. Asia-Pacific lays claim to the largest revenue from gaming worldwide.(Source: Statista)According to gaming industry stats, the Asia-Pacific gaming revenue isestimated to amount to over $174 billion by 2021. Reports further show thatabout $72.2 billion was generated by the Asian game market alone in 2019. Thisis twice that of the North American gaming market.#### 5. China is the country with the largest video games market globally.(Source: Business Wire)According to stats on video game industry revenue by country, this has beenthe case since 2015. Reports go further to reveal that China is expected tohave a revenue of $27.58 billion by the end of 2020. The US follows closelywith expected revenue of $19.41 billion for 2020. As of 2017, the Chinese makeup about 50% of the top 20 highest-earning eSports players globally.#### 6. In 2020, the console gaming market will experience its slowest growthrate since 2015.(Source: Newzoo)The console gaming market has enjoyed a memorable time since 2015. However,facts about video games show that 2020 is going to be quite challenging forthe console gaming market.Don’t despair!There’s a light at the end of the tunnel – the anticipated release of Sony’sPlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s next-gen console by the last quarter of 2020.#### 7. Mobile games claim 58.8% of the digital games market.(Source: Compare Camp)As of 2019, the mobile games market was worth $64.4 billion. With a mere $21.1billion in revenue, free-to-play (F2P) PC games come second place. Premiumconsole digital games claim the third position, with a revenue of $13.8billion. According to the video game industry revenue breakdown, the totaldigital games market revenue reached $109.5 billion in 2019.#### 8. Razer plans to invest $7.2 million in Singapore’s gaming market.(Source: Business Wire)Reports indicate that the eSports company has shown keen interest in thegrowth of the Singapore gaming market. In a bid to bolster the gaming niche inthe country, Razer is looking to underwrite gaming companies and eSport teamsbased in the country.### General Video Games Industry StatisticsOkay, now that you’ve seen the latest data, let’s check out the industrychronologically.#### 9. The gaming industry made $116 billion in 2017.(Source: VentureBeat)That was estimated to be 10.7% growth from 2016. Mobile gaming revenues grewthe most, with $50.4 billion. Esports have also made their mark in the videogame market, and their revenue is expected to hit $2.5 billion by 2020.Console gaming revenue reached $33.3 billion and is followed by PC gaming,with $32.3 billion for 2017.In 2018 those numbers exploded.#### 10. The gaming industry generated almost $135 billion in 2018.(Source: Game Industry)10. 9% increase since 2017. Talk about steady growth.Mobile gaming is the blossoming flower of the gaming market once again – $63.2billion. Console gaming revenues inspire optimism too – $38.3 billion for justa year. PC gaming didn’t register much movement, but there’s still some growthto be noted – it reached $33.4 billion in earnings.Now we’re gonna use the Force to try and look into the future.Kidding, we’ve done our research.#### 11. Video game profits are expected to reach $180.1 billion in 2021. (Source: VentureBeat)We want to thank the star of our show – smartphones. We’ve already establishedthat mobile gaming is taking over the world. Their part of the market share isexpected to grow by 59%. PC games are predicted to generate $32.3 billion inprofits in 2021 and to have 19% of the global games market. Console games, onthe other hand, will get 22%.Okay, that’s great.But what type of video games do people play, and which are the most popular?We have more surprises prepared for you. You know how your grandma just adoresSolitaire? Well, she’s not the only one.#### 11. Casual and hyper-casual games rule the mobile gaming world.(Source: GameSpace)Puzzles, arcade, simulation, lifestyle, and bingo-like games are all thecraze, both among young and old alike.Users like simple games that take little time to play. They’re also known ashyper-casual games and include titles such as Love Balls and SpinUp Jump.We asked Yoda to tell us how much the casual gaming industry’s worth is.The bigger part of smartphone owners are in the puzzle games fan club. Theycarry the golden laurel wreath with a $3.8 billion profit in 2018. Arcadegames are breathing down their necks though. They generated a 95% increase inrevenue or $1.9 billion between 2017 and 2018. Those numbers, however, areexpected to grow.Fascinating, innit?Let’s talk about esports though.What exactly are e-sport games? Techopedia defines them as “competitive first-person shooter games, large online multiplayer role-playing games, or evenprimitive logic or action games, as long as there is a competitive element.”Come on, ask us how popular they are and how much of the video gamingindustry’s revenue do they generate. Please.#### 12. The global esports audience is expected to reach a total of 456million people.(Source: Newzoo)Okay traditional video streaming services, step aside for a bit – there is anew sheriff in town. Platforms like Twitch are killing it in 2020.Venues can hardly hold everyone willing to attend. Overwatch and LoL leaguesare even supposed to have their own venues built in the future. Even now,there are new esports arenas under construction – the LCK Esports Stadium inSeoul, Full Sail University’s arena in Florida, and also one in Richmond,Canada.We never thought we’d get those numbers when researching how much the gamingindustry is worth.Now that we’re aware of how many people are diehard esports fans, it is hardlyastonishing that#### 13. Esports revenues are forecasted to reach $1.1 billion in 2019.(Source: Game Industry)Numbers are supposed to hit $1.8 billion by 2022. Predictions cite wildlydifferent numbers about this one, though. Apparently, the best case scenariois they will be up to $3.2 billion. On the other hand, if things don’t go asplanned, they might drop to the more humble $1.3 billion.Doesn’t sound too humble to us, truth be told.It’s important to mention there is money flowing towards the esports industryfrom advertising, sponsorships, and media rights. We’re talking about hugebrand investments.Alright, now that we’ve had our fun here, time to take a trip to the PC gamingmarket world.#### 14. The Sims 3 is the best selling game worldwide.(Source: WePC)It has sold 7.95 million units as of January 2018. World of Warcraft comessecond, with 6.3 million. Diablo III comes third not only in its series but inranking as well, with 5.23 million units sold.#### 15. Sony Interactive Entertainment was the richest video game company in2019.(Source: The Daily Records)It holds an estimated value of $13.4 billion – quite a big piece of the gamingmarket. Sony is the company behind PlayStation 1, 2, 3, and 4, along withPlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita.Microsoft Studios come right after them, with $12.82 million. They havecreated games for Xbox and Steam and are also the people responsible forMinecraft, Halo, Age of Empires, and more of the widely known games.Japanese giant Nintendo is third, with its estimated value being “just” $6.28billion. They are responsible for the existence of the Nintendo Entertainmentsystem, Nintendo Wii and Game Cube. You can also thank them for games likeSuper Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, and Donkey Kong.How about we now proceed to clear the stage for some of the lesser-knownnames? After all, the indie gaming market deserves its 5 minutes of fame too.Are you wondering what exactly does an indie game mean?Indie comes from ‘independent’, meaning they don’t belong to any of the bigsharks in the industry.Popular titles in the indie game territory include Super Meat Boy, Furi,Bastion, Fez, Dead Cells, and Celeste.They have been on the market for a long time, overshadowed by the giants.Still, they are slowly and surely making a name for themselves.And if we haven’t blown your mind with the size of the video game industryyet, then prepare for your jaw to hit the floor.It turns out that the video game industry makes more money than Hollywood.#### 16. The profits from ticket sales are expected to reach $41.7 billion.(Source: TechCrunch)Netflix’s chief executive Reed Hastings even admitted he sees Fortnite as abigger competition than HBO. Seems like the new generation prefers actuallypartaking in the action, not just watching it on the screen.### The Future of the Gaming Industry for 2021 and BeyondWith the increase in technological innovations, the gaming industry isexpected to have a bright future. Discussed below are some of the futuretrends the gaming industry has in store for us.#### 17. EA is looking to join the cloud-gaming service.(Source: Business Wire)As of September 2019, Electronic Arts began to test-run a cloud-gamingservice. Reports show that Google has been the front liner of the cloud gamingservice since the launch of its Stadia service supported by a few Androiddevices like Google Pixel series, OnePlus, and Samsung smartphones. However,recent reports have it that the company has made its cloud gaming serviceavailable on all Android devices running an Android 6.0 OS at the least.#### 18. Online gambling is forecast to become immersive.(Source: Read Dive)Gambling is loved by millions of people. Stats on the future of the gamingindustry show that 3D games, VR casinos, and live dealers, among others, willsoon be introduced into the gaming industry. The use of VR headsets will allowusers to experience online gambling as though they were in a real-life casinoin Vegas.#### 19. We will be seeing more remastered games and game remakes.(Source: Compare Camp)Stats on video game trends show that this year, games like Final Fantasy VIIRemake, Resident Evil 3, and XIII Remake are in the making. Reports go furtherto indicate that although the younger generations will pick interest in thesegames, those who grew up playing these games are the primary target.#### 20. High-fidelity mobile games are on the rise.(Source: Compare Camp)Many game developers are becoming interested in creating graphics that areultra-realistic. In 2016, high-fidelity games accounted for about 5% to 10% ofthe top mobile games in western countries. What’s more, stats on video gametrends show that China tops the high-fidelity mobile game category in terms ofrevenue.#### 21. More powerful gaming consoles will be released.(Source: Compare Camp)We already mentioned that Microsoft and Sony plan to release new consolesduring the late part of 2020.PlayStation 5 and Xbox series X should support next-generation VR and native4K. An Xbox series X dedicated audio chip is also set to be released, whilethe PS5 console is proclaimed to come with 3D audio. This will create a greataudio user experience.#### 22. Studios are set to experience the benefits of merging their marketingand monetization teams.(Source: Venturebeat)With advertising becoming a very important source of revenue for gamingcompanies, many game studios aligned their marketing and monetization unitsinto one single team. This began in 2019, mostly in gaming companies that dealwith casual and hyper-casual games. According to gaming industry statisticsfor 2020, it is expected that this current development will usher in a moreeffective working environment, which will ultimately lead to the growth of acompany.### Wrap UpSo, what’s the outtake from all of this?The gaming craze is huge. The video game industry revenue is forecast to reach$180.1 billion in 2021. It marked a 10.7% growth between 2016 and 2017 andthen 10.9% between 2017 and 2018. Casual and hyper-casual games rule themobile gaming world.The Sims 3 is the Jedi master amongst PC games. Esports revenues should reach$1.1 billion in 2019. Sony Interactive Entertainment is the rich kid of thevideo game companies. As an industry, it is bigger than even Hollywood.Mind-blowing.Did we manage to give you an answer to how much the gaming industry is worth?We are honestly surprised by all those big numbers and we hope you found themas entertaining as we did! Till next time!