Development of the gaming market until 2025

How did the gaming sector perceive the year 2024? Market analysts can answer this question of concern for developers and players alike: let’s see what conclusions they have come to and what they predict for the future.

Players: There were 3.42 billion registered players worldwide this year, despite the fact that average global playtime never grew after declining in 2021. The increase was +4.5%, mostly PC players, whose number exceeded 900 million in 2024 (+3.9% year-on-year). Despite a slight growth of 3.5%, the number of players on mobile devices reached 2.85 billion. Finally, the growth of console players slowed down to +2.3% (630 million). Analysts predict that the number of players will continue to grow and will exceed 3.75 billion by the end of 2027.

The largest share of players comes from the Asia-Pacific region, where growth is driven by the Central and Southeast Asian markets, respectively, with 53%. 20% of the players are from Europe and North America. The Middle East & Africa (16%) and Latin America (11%) markets are growing strongly and these markets have the highest player growth with +8.2% and +5.6% respectively.

Distribution of players by region

The gaming market earned 2.1% more in 2024, totaling $187.7 billion. Although the mobile segment continues to dominate in terms of revenues, the PC gaming segment shows the highest growth (+4%). On the other hand, the console segment shows a slight decline (-1%). This is due to the small amount of content, which makes it difficult to keep players interested. Nevertheless, analysts predict that consoles will surpass gaming PCs by 2025.

An improving economy, consistently good performance of already released games and high-profile releases have led to a 3% increase in revenue for the mobile segment leader to reach $92.6 billion. However, due to the increasing share of other segments, the revenue share of mobile games is likely to decline.

Revenue distribution across platforms

Popular online games such as League of Legends, Fortnite, and Counter-Strike continue to attract a large number of players, leading to an increase in the time spent playing these games and the revenue generated from them. In addition, games such as Roblox and Fortnite are constantly looking for new ways to attract new players.

Revenue structure of the gaming market

Gaming Market Statistics 

When it comes to revenue distribution by region, Asia Pacific has traditionally led the way thanks to China, Japan, and South Korea. Thus, games brought in over $94 billion dollars in China alone. In second place is North America, accounting for more than 78 billion dollars in revenue for the United States. In third place are European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Brazil (2.4 billion), Mexico (1.7 billion), Russia (2.3 billion) and Egypt (1.1 billion) show impressive figures in other regions.

It is worth noting that the languages of these countries are the most preferred languages for localization.

The increase in the number of games running on different platforms was one of the trends of last year. Movies like God of War and Final Fantasy used to be released only on one platform, encouraging users to buy the corresponding console, but now Sony and Microsoft prefer a more open approach. Since releasing a game on a single platform doesn’t cover development costs at the current cost, expanding the audience has become more important than increasing device sales.

The specific approaches are still individualized for each company. For example, Sony’s strategy includes the following: service games are released on multiple platforms at once, major franchises retain temporary exclusivity, and sequels sometimes remain console exclusives.

It is worth noting that the increasing number of cross-platform releases benefits the PC segment. Releasing a game on different platforms also allows for a wider geographical reach and attracts players from a wider geographical range, which undoubtedly requires localization into the respective languages.

Releases distributed globally

AAA games in 2024 were heavy on the AAA segment, which failed to reach the record numbers of 2023, with the exception of a few standout releases such as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Most game services, including games from major franchises, have struggled with user retention.

Against the backdrop of declining global playtime, an oversaturated game-service market, and incredibly high development costs, AAA studios will have to find new ways to attract players. Interestingly, large and lengthy AAA games used to attract players, but these games are now becoming less competitive. Releasing several smaller games instead of one large one may be an option that can reduce development costs and increase creativity.

AA games and the Indie segment are experiencing new opportunities due to the challenges facing the largest projects. Recently, the number of successful indie games continues to grow. It is easy to create innovative games that can carve a niche in the market due to compactness, less financial pressure and more room for experimentation.

Mobile gaming: this year, new legislation, particularly the EU’s Digital Markets Act, has had a significant impact on the mobile market. Giant companies like Apple and Google have been forced to open up their ecosystems and allow alternative app stores and payment methods. As a result, Epic Games, Microsoft and other companies are planning to increase their presence in the mobile sector.

The future of creativity has been jeopardized by the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) neural networks. However, neural networks are accelerating content creation. On the contrary, intellectual property infringements, massive layoffs at large companies, and content quality have been the topics of AI discussion this year. There is no denying the impact of neural networks on the current state of affairs in the industry, despite the risks involved. Experts believe that while artificial intelligence will not completely replace humans, it will greatly speed up the development process and help in the creative process.

AAA games and India segment

Real-time gaming (VR) continues to face challenges due to declining playtime and overall industry and market conditions. Inflation and lack of exclusive content make it difficult to attract and retain players. In addition, the need to purchase specialized devices is increasing. At the same time, many companies continue to invest in virtual reality, demonstrating the potential of the virtual reality sector. Companies such as Apple and Meta released new virtual reality devices this year, the Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3S.

The gaming industry of the 2010s was changed by F2P games, free-to-play games, and new monetization strategies. Emerging games such as Fortnite, Roblox and League of Legends continue to dominate in terms of player engagement, with an increased share of player playtime in 2024. The success of free-to-play games depends on playtime, and it is difficult for newcomers to compete with popular games that have consolidated audiences due to high user engagement costs and low conversion rates. Only five free-to-play PC and console games released in 2023 were able to cross the 0.1% threshold in terms of share of time spent.

F2P games

Additional aspects of success: due to shrinking playtime, oversaturation and market consolidation, companies must find new methods to attract and retain players.

Major game developers are increasingly relying on sequels (e.g. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth), ports (e.g. Horizon Forbidden West and Ghost of Tsushima), remakes (e.g. Persona 3 Reload), and remasters of games from existing series. Only four of the five AAA games released in the first half of 2024 are new IPs.

In the last year and a half, community management has increasingly influenced the success of games. Influencers and social media have long supplanted traditional game journalism, increasing the importance of community to a game’s success. Early access is also gaining momentum. It’s a form of community outreach that helps gauge a game’s appeal and profitability, as well as cater to audience tastes when adding new content.

The ability to create user-generated content to attract players, especially those from generations Z and A (alpha), is important. 86% and 94% of internet users in these generations play games. However, veterans make up a significant proportion of players, so competitive games need to attract players of different ages.

Top gaming platforms for different genders

Popular Game Genres: Shooters accounted for 17% of PC and console game revenue in 2024 and 16% of console game revenue. PC shooters earned $7.4 billion, up 9.6% year-on-year, while consoles earned $8.1 billion, up 6%.

The adventure genre ranked second with a 13% share on PC and 15% on consoles. On PC, its revenue increased 21.2% to $5.8 billion. Console revenue increased to $7.7 billion, but it was down 13.6% from the previous year.

In addition, RPGs, battle royale and strategy were the most popular PC games. Sports and role-playing games, as well as RPGs, account for a significant share of revenue on consoles, which is higher than on PCs.

Best Games of 2024: Awards Ceremony Another way to gauge the popularity of genres and trends in the industry is to watch the awards ceremonies. On December 12, The Game Awards, one of the most important events in the 2024 gaming industry, took place in Los Angeles. This year’s winners included the following games.

A full list of winners can be found on the awards website. Game of the Year – Astro Bot. Best Independent Game – Balatro. Best mobile game – Balatro. Best VR/AR game – Batman: Arkham Shadow. Best Community Support – Baldur’s Gate III. Best Network Game – Helldivers 2. Best cyber sports game – League of Legends. Most Anticipated Game – Grand Theft Auto VI. Community Choice – Black Myth: Wukong.

Conclusion: the gaming industry continues to evolve and the number of players around the world is growing. In 2024, personal computers (PCs) will see the most growth. However, the industry is facing new challenges. Market consolidation continues, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for new releases to compete with larger studios and projects. As a result, certain problems are arising. However, as the market grows, various approaches are available to developers to solve these problems, such as cross-platform and collaboration.