Global gaming revenue reaching $187.7 billion

PC and console gaming is booming. The number of players worldwide will reach 3.38 billion in 2023, growing by +6.3% year-on-year, while the global games market will generate revenues of $187.7 billion, with year-on-year growth of +2.6%, gaming data company Newzoo says in a forecast.

Console games will account for $56.1 billion in revenues, or 30% of this year’s global total, making console the second largest segment behind mobile.

By the end of 2023, mobile’s share of the global revenue pie will drop to less than half for the first time in years due in part to regulatory challenges in that segment, the forecast says.

Highlights:

• Global player numbers will reach 3.38 billion, with emerging regions driving player growth.
• The global games market will generate revenues of $187.7 billion.
• The global games market will generate yearly revenues of $212.4 billion in 2026.
• Cloud gaming and VR (and extended reality) are growing but remain niche markets.
• Game makers across the console and PC market are focusing a lot on live-service games; however, the influx of content plus the finite number of players puts the sustainability of live services in question.
• Generative AI is already becoming part of game development, though fans have already pushed back against the use of AI in some games.
• The most popular genre for the console segment is adventure, which will account for 17.1% of console revenues in 2023.