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• Gaming Market

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Gaming Market Size, Industry Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Game Type (Shooter, Action, Sports, Role Playing, and Others), By Device Type (PC/MMO, Tablet, Mobile Phone, and TV/Console), By End-User (Male and Female), and Regional Forecast, 2023-2030

Last Updated: August 19, 2024 | Format: PDF | Report ID: FBI105730

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KEY MARKET INSIGHTS

The global gaming market size was valued at USD 249.55 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow from USD 281.77 billion in 2023 to USD 665.77 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 13.1% during the forecast period (2023-2030).

Large people worldwide are inclined toward gaming as one of their major sources of entertainment. Playing video games offers stress relief, gives the experience of working in a team, and helps provide players with a sense of achievement. Such self-satisfaction and joy are assisting in generating more traction.  Additionally, it is an effective tool for calming down playful kids and entertaining older adults considering having more free time. Besides, the escalating expenditure on home entertainment systems worldwide is the driving factor for the gaming industry growth. As per the data published by Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), the U.S. consumer expenditure on home entertainment increased by an annual rate of 8.4%, reaching USD 25.2 billion in January 2020.

COVID-19 IMPACT

COVID-19 Pandemic Resulted in an Increase in Product Demand

A large number of people were forced to spend more time at home due to the precautionary measures adopted by the majority of people worldwide in response to COVID-19. People experienced worry, anxiety, and terror as a result of the pandemic. In addition, social gatherings and outdoor activities were prohibited. All of these factors worked together to boost gaming, which is known to provide relief from a range of mental conditions. According to the World Economic Forum, in September 2020, gaming sales in the U.S. increased dramatically by 37% to reach USD 3.3 billion. These factors supported market expansion during the pandemic.

LATEST TRENDS

Growing Popularity of Gaming Championships to Aid Market Development

Call of Duty, PUBG, and League of Legends video games are widely popular among youngsters due to their high-quality graphic designs and augmented reality -based interactive PC gaming features. The growing popularity of playing championship tournaments in online games will likely increase consumer spending on these games, uplifting the industry’s revenues globally. According to Esports’ data, in 2020, the League of Legends Championship gained a viewership of 3.8 million. In addition, the high price money offered by the video game championship encouraged more people to play a video game, which also acts as a gaming industry trend. For instance, in August 2020, Times Now News declared that PUBG Mobile Global Championship had offered a prize pool of USD 2 million.

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DRIVING FACTORS

Inclination of Youth toward Gaming to Favor Market Development

The global youth population increasingly uses video games to occupy their free time, which has played a vital role in enlarging market growth. According to 2020 data from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 73% of U.S. parents believe that video games benefit children's education and 66% found better entertainment in family game time. Besides, increasing youngsters’ indulgence in indoor games and other leisure activities, such as painting, crafting, and others accelerates global gaming market revenues.

Increasing Inclination of Mobile Users Toward Gaming to Spike the Product Demand

Due to the increasing adoption of 4G connectivity in smartphones, interactive social media games are becoming more and more popular on mobile devices around the world. Therefore, these games are attracting players from a variety of demographics globally. For instance, in May 2020, data presented by the World Economic Forum.Org mentions that around 48% of the video games industry is contributed by mobile games. Likewise, the booming mobile cellular subscription has also significantly spiked the demand for mobile games. According to data published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in 2022, average global active broadband mobile subscriptions reached 87 per 100 habitats, compared to 78 in 2020.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

Addiction Issues from Intense Gaming to Hamper the Market Growth

The growing number of gamers who intensely play video games , especially among children, is often turned into an addiction. This hampers their studies and gives rise to social anxiety. Thus, such activities repel parents to purchase a gaming system for their children. According to a well-trusted addiction recovery firm called ‘The Recovery Village’ in April 2021, over 2 billion people play video games worldwide and 1–10% of gamers have obsessive addiction issues. In addition to this, addiction to video games can even turn to mental health issues has thus led more parents to repel from purchasing the product for their kids, restraining the market growth.

SEGMENTATION

By game type analysis.

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Shooter Segment to Stay at the Forefront Owing to 3D Realistic Graphics

Based on game type, the market is fragmented into shooter, action, sports, role-playing, and others.

The shooter segment is projected to grasp a strong gaming market share over the forecasted period. This is because most shooter games provide 3D realistic graphics, which often come with challenging tactical missions, attractive weapons, and multiplayer game functionality. Therefore, these play a crucial role in helping to attract more gamers to this type of game.

On the other hand, segments such as role-playing, sports, action, and others are also experiencing a decent market enlargement owing to these genres of games being able to meet the desire of a specific target audience, from athletes to women, children, and even the elderly population. The increasing popularity of Game Worlds and other education courses teaching student video gamers about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is mainly supporting the Others’ segmental growth.

By Device Type Analysis 

Mobile Phones to Hold the Dominant Share Driven by Rising Smartphone Penetration

By device type, the market is divided into PC/MMO, tablet, mobile phone, and TV/console. Mobile phones are anticipated to be dominant owing to rising smartphone ownership. The focus of many game developers is turning to more game creation, especially for mobile devices, which has a big impact on the industry.

However, the PC/MMO, iPad, and TV/console also have strong popularity. Serious gamers frequently choose the majority of these gadgets since they are better able to handle high-definition games, which demand potent processors, graphic cards, and RAM.

By End-User Analysis 

Male Segment to Lead Impelled by Availability of a Wide Range of Games 

By end-user, the market is bifurcated into male and female. The male segment is estimated to be a bigger market due to the large number of games available, such as action, sports, racing, and others that are designed to be more male-oriented than females. Hence, this plays a significant contribution to male dominance in the industry.

However, the female segment is also increasingly showing a progressive rise, as more females are influenced by online game streaming platforms such as Twitch, where they can gain loyal fans willing to support their channels financially.   

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

Asia Pacific is a dominant market shareholder in this market, boasting a size of USD 114.87 billion in 2022. Video gaming consoles observed escalating traction among consumers of this region have played a significant role in the development of this market. For instance, from January 2020 to September 2020, Nintendo Co. Ltd., a Japanese gaming items maker, sold Nintendo Switch 15.6 million units globally. In addition, the rapid growth in the urban population is giving rise to increasing awareness regarding trending video games launched and retailed in the market, which is helping to surge the consumption rate.

Europe is anticipated to show substantial growth owing to the flourishing development of esports, which assists in attracting more people to video games. According to the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) data, e-sports gaming revenues in Europe reached USD 0.1 billion in 2021. Besides, the governmental initiative supporting the development of the newer online games will to fuel its demand among consumers globally. In November 2022, German Games Industry Association invested USD 20.0 million in the development of the German gaming sector.

North America is evaluated to have a robust presence in the market. The growing popularity of playing video games among older adults has spiked product demand. According to data presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), in 2022, 40% of gamers were aged 35 years and above in the U.S. Besides, most of the children in this region carry their smart devices, surging the product's utilization.

South America is demonstrating a substantial rise in the market, which is contributed by the surging growth of internet users in the region. This is favoring the popularity of online games among the South American population. According to data presented by the government of Brazil, number of households with internet connection in Brazil reached 90% of the total households in 2021, up from 84% in 2019.

The Middle East & Africa region has been assessed to have a considerable presence in the market. The booming growth of smartphone penetration is assisting in hiking the number of people playing mobile games. Therefore, this is helping to accelerate the consumption rate. According to the Mobile Economy report published by The GSM Association, in 2021, smartphone adoption in sub-Saharan Africa reached 64% of the total population in the region. As per the report, the percentage is expected to increase to 75% by 2025.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Key Players Depict Growing Inclination Toward Virtual Reality

The market's key players are progressively focusing more on producing a virtual reality gaming system. Such systems are expected to positively impact the gaming market growth in the coming years as they offer a more realistic experience of playing the game. For instance, in February 2020, Sony shared plans regarding its launch of a virtual reality headset for PlayStation 5. In addition, key companies are also constantly moving toward improving the display and graphics of video games for various devices.

LIST OF KEY COMPANIES PROFILED:

• Microsoft Corporation (U.S.)
• Nintendo Co., Ltd (Japan)
• Rovio Entertainment Corporation (Finland)
• Nvidia Corporation (U.S.)
• Valve Corporation (U.S.)
• PlayJam Ltd (U.K.)
• Electronic Arts Inc (U.S.)
• Sony Group Corporation (Japan)
• Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. (Japan)
• Tencent Holdings Ltd. (China)
• Activision Blizzard, Inc. (U.S.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• July 2022 – Sony Corporation, a Japanese electronics giant, invested USD 3.6 billion to acquire Bungie, Inc., a video gaming company, to compete with its rival Microsoft Corporation in the U.S., U.K., and South Korean markets.
• January 2022 – Microsoft Corporation invested USD 68.7 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard, Inc., an American video gaming company, and expand its global cloud gaming industry presence.
• January 2022 - Savvy Gaming Group, a Saudi Arabian gaming company, invested USD 1.08 billion to acquire ESL Gaming Co. and merge it with esports platform FACEIT.
• May 2022 - Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. invested USD 12.7 billion to acquire Zynga, the social game developer’s FarmVille franchise, and expand its presence in free-to-play mobile games.
• November 2020: Microsoft Corporation declared the launch of the next-generation Xbox video game console. The flagship would be launched along with its cheaper counterpart Xbox Series S.

REPORT COVERAGE

An Infographic Representation of Gaming Market

To get information on various segments, share your queries with us

The market research report provides a detailed analysis of the industry and focuses on critical aspects such as major companies, end-users, and leading product types. Besides this, the report offers insights into the current market trends and highlights key industry developments. In addition to the aforementioned factors, the report encompasses several factors contributing to the market growth over recent years.

Report Scope & Segmentation

Frequently Asked Questions

Fortune Business Insights states that the market size was USD 249.55 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 665.77 billion by 2030.

In 2022, the Asia Pacific market value stood at USD 114.87 billion.

Growing at a CAGR of 13.1%, the market will exhibit moderate growth in the forecast period (2023-2030).

The mobile phone segment is the leading segment in this market during the forecast period.

The youth population being progressively inclined toward video games drives the market growth.

Rovio Entertainment Corporation, Nvidia Corporation, and Valve Corporation are some of the major players in the market.

Asia Pacific dominated the market share in 2022.

The growing number of people owning a smart device are expected to drive the adoption of the market.

• STUDY PERIOD: 2019-2030
• BASE YEAR: 2022
• HISTORICAL DATA: 2019-2021
• NO OF PAGES: 180

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The global gaming market size was valued at $249.55 billion in 2022 & is anticipated to grow from $281.77 billion in 2023 to $665.77 billion by 2030

Read More at:-

How the business of gaming is evolving

January 23, 2022 With an increasing number of people playing, broadcasting, and watching esports, the already booming, multi-billion dollar gaming ecosystem is reaching even greater heights. As the Call of Duty League (#CDL2022) hosts its Kickoff Classic this weekend, and against the backdrop of industry consolidation, it’s a good time to get up to speed on the business of gaming. Dive deeper with insights on the topics that matter, including:

• the digital ecosystems powering today’s increasingly borderless economy
• how brands can build knowledge and credibility in esports
• why digital subscriptions don’t easily translate to video games
• other business uses for gamification

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April 29, 2021

Global Gaming Industry Value Now Exceeds $300 Billion, New Accenture Report Finds

Industry added 500 million new and more diverse gamers over the past three years, fueled by mobile gaming adoption and desire for social experiences

NEW YORK; Apr. 29, 2021 – In a new report, Accenture (NYSE: ACN) estimates that the full value of the gaming industry now exceeds $300 billion, more than the combined markets for movies and music, driven by a surge in mobile gaming and an emphasis on social interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accenture’s new report — “ Gaming: the new superplatform ” — analyzes data from 4,000 gamers across four of the largest gaming markets — China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — to understand gamers’ needs and the drivers behind the industry’s massive growth.

The gaming industry has increased by half a billion players in the past three years, totaling 2.7 billion people globally. The report predicts more than 400 million new gamers are expected by the end of 2023. The profiles of these new joiners are also changing: 60% are women, 30% are under 25 years old and one-third identify as non-white. Whereas respondents who identified as longtime gamers are 61% male, 79% over 25 years old and 76% identifying as white. “The emergence of new gaming platforms and changing demographics are pushing gaming businesses away from being product-centric to becoming experience-oriented platforms,” said Seth Schuler, managing director with Accenture’s Software & Platforms industry group. “The industry must balance the needs of its newest adopters, who care more deeply about their online interactions, with the expectations of gaming loyalists who remain the industry’s most lucrative customers.” As the gaming community continues to grow, the social aspect is an increasingly key aspect to gamers’ overall experiences. 84% of respondents say video games help them connect with others with similar interests, while three-quarters of them recognize that more of their social interactions now happen on gaming platforms.

According to the survey, gamers are spending an average 16 hours a week playing, eight hours a week watching or participating in game streams and six hours a week interacting in game forums and communities. These social interactions are one of the key drivers behind online gaming’s growth: about three-in-four gamers indicate they expect online gaming to become a larger part of their gaming experience in the future. “Beyond its already tremendous size, the gaming industry has had a significant global impact on entertainment and culture, spanning successful movie franchises, arena-based competitions, toys and more,” said Robin Murdoch, global Software & Platform lead at Accenture. “As we watch this influence expand, we’re seeing the emergence of gaming as an ecosystem of superplatforms where players can meet, communicate, watch live-streamed concerts, shop or listen to music.” These findings are part of a three-part series looking at the changing faces of gaming, from the industry’s overall growth to its challenges and opportunities ahead. To read the full report, please visit https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/software-platforms/gaming-the-next-super-platform . Research Methodology The research is based on data collected via an online survey with 4,000 consumers who spend at least four hours per week playing video games. The sample is evenly distributed across four countries: China, Japan, the US, and the UK. We also conducted more than one dozen in-depth interviews with industry executives from gaming companies including Activision Blizzard, EA, Evertoon, Niantic, Razer, Square Enix, Samsung, Splash Damage and Tencent, among others. About Accenture Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services—all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 537,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com . Accenture’s Software and Platforms industry helps software and platform companies innovate to stay ahead of disruption . To learn more, visit https://www.accenture.com/us-en/industries/software-and-platforms-index Copyright© 2021 Accenture. All rights reserved. # # # Contact: Quentin Nolibois Accenture +1 415 741 8356 [email protected]

2021 Global Insights Report

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Search trends

• They searched for hardware and accessories
• They sought competitive communities
• They escaped into immersive genres
• They used gaming to learn new things

As more people stayed at home earlier in the year, gaming has become a growing way to socialize for existing and new gamers alike. This shift can be seen in an increase of downloads from January to June. 3

In the gaming world, success is often defined in billions of dollars of revenue or tens of millions of downloads. The reality is that most games on the market never come close to that level. They’re not Call of Duty or Candy Crush. Yet, even the smallest studios can enjoy long-term success if they take the right approach to scaling their business...

In the gaming world, success is often defined in billions of dollars of revenue or tens of millions of downloads. The reality is that most games on the market never come close to that level. They’re not Call of Duty or Candy Crush. Yet, even the smallest studios can enjoy long-term success if they take the right approach to scaling their business. Of course, on the whole, game developers are pioneering some of the most innovative strategies and technology we’ve seen in years, and they’re at the forefront of one of the fastest-growing industries. But if your idea of success is just being popular in a large gaming market, you’re not considering the full nuanced picture.

My team and I spend a lot of time thinking about how every game developer — whether they have 50,000 downloads or 50,000,000 — can find ways to succeed in this highly competitive market. When I talk to different companies, the question I get asked most is, “How do we compare to other game developers? Are we doing well?”

Here’s the thing: Long term success is about understanding where you are right now, and taking measured steps to build on that. While it’s of course important to pay attention to what your competitors are doing, sometimes growing game developers can get so caught up in beating their rivals that they leave things on the table that could help them build a more sustainable business. In other words, don’t let your competitive spirit get in the way of your own best interests. Sure, I understand the impulse to shoot for the stars and imagine success as releasing a AAA title or being a top-grossing app in the Google Play store. But that’s over-simplifying it. What will make you successful in your own arena depends on how you pair your titles with market demand, and the way you assemble and operate your company.

The road to measured growth starts with asking the right questions, even if getting to the answers is hard. Here are a few to consider:

“How are your games resonating with your audience?”

Are you seeing good engagement within the first few minutes of game play? Is retention strong? These are all good signals as to whether you're gaining traction in the market. On the other hand, if you’re having trouble getting people to stay in the game, things will only get harder down the line. If you don’t have a solid base of players that represent a game’s value (for example, reaching the desired level of in-app purchases), and ideal playing frequency, then you shouldn't focus on growth until you find a better fit. Which is why it's completely counterproductive to believe that a successful game is simply some brilliant idea with off the charts retention. What you're looking for initially is not so much a great idea for a game, as a game that could move through growth phases, in the midst of all of this technology disruption.

“How expensive is the game to promote?”

Is your marketing spend justified by the conversion rates? Are people discovering your game in new or unexpected ways? You should be able to clearly and confidently say where you’re looking to invest more resources, and why it would help you grow. Develop an investment “thesis” that you stick with. Conventional thinking, says product makes the game, marketing, markets it. The best gaming companies work tirelessly to integrate the two.

“Is your business model realistic?”

Are you sufficiently staffed to scale as your market grows? A five-person studio that publishes a game every two years may not be learning fast enough to build a sustainable business.

“Is your target market too small?”

Many developers don't think they can afford to expand beyond their local market. Or they believe success means getting big in the US or China, when they could drive substantial revenue by focusing on expanding to a wider variety of smaller countries.

Growing developers who don’t closely consider more focused questions like these risk attempting to scale when they might not be ready. As the leader of a gaming company, the more you think of your organization as a constantly evolving organism, the more you will test your products, the effectiveness of your marketing, and the value of your design — and the more you test (and fail), the more you learn. Remember: When you’re scaling your company in one growth phase and anticipate the next, the healthiest mindset is “what got you here won’t get you there.”

Eventually, every game hits the limit of the markets and players it was designed for. Game studios will then have to decide whether they want to grow by launching new titles. The ability to create another game whose growth line ascends as the other game descends is the dynamic of all successful, transcending gaming companies that truly scale. It’s important to keep in mind that not all gaming companies aspire to do this, and that doesn’t mean that they’re not successful. You have to decide what’s best in your specific case, based on the games that you offer. It’s about finding the right balance for you — deciding how many growth curves you want to balance, and accepting the trade-offs.

One of the great things about the games industry is that there are relatively low barriers to entry, especially for mobile games, and opportunities for winners in all kinds of markets and genres. You can go from zero to 100 at the intersection of market and genre. And the industry continues to expand. There are more gamers than there were a year ago, and revenue is growing at nearly 10 percent per year 1 . That trend shows no sign of slowing. There's great talent and great opportunity for smaller developers, and more than enough room for many to thrive. But it starts with understanding what success means to you — not the market at large — and thinking even more deeply about how your own team, culture, and product play a part in it.

1 https://www.reuters.com/article/esports-business-gaming-revenues/report-gaming-revenue-to-top-159b-in-2020-idUSFLM8jkJMl/

Female gamers

For instance, the gaming market in China continues to expand, and female gamers are stepping up . As of 2019, China is home to one of the highest populations of female gamers in the world, making up 45% of total Chinese gamers. 4

China has long been a powerful player in the global gaming ecosystem. While Chinese consumers have traditionally been receptive to games from the United States, South Korea, and other overseas markets, Chinese publishers have been surging ahead of their international competition in recent years across a wide variety of genres...

China has long been a powerful player in the global gaming ecosystem. Today, the country easily falls within the top 3 countries in the world with the highest gaming revenue. 1 While Chinese consumers have traditionally been receptive to games from the United States, South Korea, and other overseas markets, Chinese publishers have been surging ahead of their international competition in recent years across a wide variety of genres.

In fact, some of the world’s most innovative games are now coming out of China. While titles like Tencent’s PUBG Mobile and NetEase’s Knives Out are delivering cutting-edge gaming experiences in the battle royale category, Mihoyo’s Genshin Impact has been lauded for its revolutionary approach to AAA game development. If you’re an overseas publisher trying to crack the Chinese market, you need to be aware of what it takes to succeed over there. Here are five strategies to consider when entering and succeeding in China:

Continually innovate and improve

Over the years, Chinese developers have excelled at creating high-quality mobile games, like Honor of Kings . At the same time, they haven’t slept on their laurels. To illustrate, Chinese developers have been working on improving mobile gameplay quality to the point that it matches PC and console experiences. The takeaway? It’s not enough to create a high-quality game. You also need to commit to continually improving it and adding new content. You can do that by prioritizing continuous iterations to improve fundamental gameplay and collaborating with IP owners and brands to add engaging content and real-time support capabilities to your titles.

Capitalize quickly on popular trends

Chinese companies move rapidly to identify trends within the gaming community and incorporate them into their newest titles. For years, multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games didn’t exist on mobile. In large part, that was because traditional developers didn’t believe the genre would work on smartphones. Tencent believed otherwise, and proved the concept with titles like Honor of Kings — thereby making the seemingly impossible possible. In gaming, time to market is crucial. If a project is delayed by months or even weeks, competitors can get substitute options out faster, quickly pulling ahead.

Chinese publishers understand this notion perfectly, which is why top publishers employ teams of developers around the clock to get titles into app stores as quickly as possible. Beyond that, many even have implemented an internal competition mechanism that rewards the fastest teams with the best-performing titles. To keep pace in China, overseas publishers need to operate with speed and agility, and be able to quickly capitalize on current popular trends.

Plan your marketing budget for the long term

While U.S. and Japanese game publishers invest more heavily in design and development, Chinese publishers are more focused on marketing and user acquisition. To this end, they rely on data-driven business models that calculate the time needed to see a return on their investments — and then use those calculations to determine the marketing budgets for future releases. Overseas publishers that wish to compete in China need to plan their marketing budgets for the long term and make a conscious effort to continuously engage users and add more value.

Integrate social networking and influencers

Embedding social elements into games helps increase player engagement and improve long-term retention statistics. When players see people they know promoting the games they love, they’re more likely to continue playing. If you’re trying to enter the Chinese market, take advantage of short-form apps and live streaming platforms like Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) to promote your games. Whenever possible, partner with key opinion leaders to help create momentum ahead of a launch.

Find a local partner

Since there isn’t a Google Play store in China, developers must work directly with a number of OEMs, many of which have their own app stores. If you’re coming into the market from the outside, this can be a difficult situation to navigate. The easiest way to do it successfully is by finding a knowledgeable partner that has relationships with the OEMs you’re looking to work with and can negotiate agreements with each of them. As an added bonus, the right partners may also be able to help studios navigate the challenging licensing process required to publish games in China.

Ten years ago, nobody would have predicted that mobile gaming would be as popular and exciting as it is today. Looking into the future, I predict cloud gaming will be the same way in 10 years: the era of downloading games will be over. Gamers will just click to play with their friends, and the accessibility of gaming and excitement of gameplay will be greater than ever before. More importantly, I believe that as the nature of technology and entertainment continues to evolve, China will remain a bustling hub of gaming innovation in the future as it has been in years’ past — a source of opportunity that continues to open doors for game developers and gamers around the world.

1 https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings/top-10-countries-by-game-revenues/

Global watch time hours of gaming content in 2020

Communities have become more interconnected with each other outside the games themselves by creating and consuming related content. On YouTube, gaming content continues to grow year over year. Globally, there were over 100 billion watch time hours of gaming content and 40 million active gaming channels on YouTube between October 2019 and September 2020. 5

From events that pivoted to digital to live streams to an ever-growing library of VOD content, YouTube Gaming was home to all forms of video game content. 6 Here are some of the global top videos from 2020:

As a kid, the last thing I wanted to do was watch someone else play a game. I wanted to be in the action myself, so the idea of watching content about something I could engage with myself seemed backwards. And yet, when I became a commentator at Major League Gaming in 2008, something clicked for me: I quickly realized that esports and livestreaming was not only gaining momentum, but would take the games industry by storm...

As a kid, the last thing I wanted to do was be a spectator, watching someone else play a game. I wanted to be in the action myself, so the idea of watching content about something I could do myself seemed backwards. As I got older, my interest in sports pushed me to be incredibly competitive off the field as well, as I discovered the world of video games. I found myself falling in love with esports in 2002 when I played Counter-Strike matches competitively in a league, which then led to becoming a content creator myself -- streaming on Justin.TV and posting my gaming videos on YouTube. What I quickly learned was that I wasn’t alone, and other people shared this same passion. It truly clicked for me when I became an esports commentator at Major League Gaming in 2008: I realized that watching people play video games was not only gaining momentum, but would take the games industry by storm. It wasn’t a matter of if; it was just a matter of how soon.

When I joined YouTube as the Global Head of Gaming more than six years ago, the business of gaming videos was still in its infancy. Back then, we didn't even have a dedicated games destination on the home page — it was still a subcategory under Media and Entertainment. Today, YouTube is the best place for watching and creating gaming content. We have pages upon pages devoted to the most popular video games, brimming with content from our gaming creators, making gaming one of YouTube's most popular categories. We’re seeing people from all around the world come to YouTube to connect more deeply with gaming creators, watch live video game content, learn how to play new games, or simply master the ones they already love. In fact, more than 200 million people come to YouTube every single day to watch video games content, making it one of the largest gaming video platforms in the world.

“Watching people play video games was not only gaining momentum, but would take the games industry by storm. It wasn’t a matter of if; it was just a matter of how soon.”

In 2020 alone, people around the globe watched over 100 billion hours of gaming content on YouTube, and we had over 40 million active gaming channels. Live streaming on YouTube had an incredible year: We saw watch time from gaming live streams grow to over 10 billion hours. Creators like LazarBeam , Lyna , MortaL , CouRage , TheDonato , Felipe Neto and Typical Gamer are streaming exclusively on YouTube, and we’ve seen Valkyrae become one of the biggest female live streamers across all platforms since she started streaming exclusively on YouTube.

Live-stream content will always be an important piece of the pie, but in today’s reality, live watchtime is still only a small piece of the total pie when looking at gaming video consumption across all platforms. Directionally, I believe gaming is going to be multi-dimensional across not only games and platforms, but content forms too. Whereas VOD content allows edited videos to flourish and Live is great for telling stories in real time, we’re also focused on original short form content via Shorts and Clips, which directs viewers to an exciting or important moment in time. Mobile gaming is also on the rise as more people play mobile games and use their mobile devices to watch content on YouTube. All of this together makes YouTube Gaming a dynamic ecosystem that engages more than 200 million people around the world. But keeping fans coming back for more requires a huge volume of content.

“In today’s reality, live watchtime is still only a small piece of the total pie when looking at gaming video consumption across all platforms.”

One way developers and publishers are approaching this is by offering sandbox environments that turn players into creators, which extends the shelf life of their games and creates new revenue streams. A classic example is Minecraft: its sandbox offers infinite opportunities for creativity and is one reason why it’s been the biggest game on YouTube since its debut. By layering new, original content atop older games, top creators like Dream have found ways to capture and engage global audiences a decade after the game’s initial release.

Here’s what I know for sure: The games that have found long term success and a loyal fan base on YouTube are the ones that allow players to create their own narratives. These days, games are no longer pieces of content on their own. They have become jumping points for an ever-growing library of user-generated content – whether it's updated characters, maps, modes, or other digital extensions. Where there’s fresh content for games, you can be sure there will be more content about it. It's a virtuous circle that's growing at an exponential rate.

There’s a wonderful symbiotic relationship between making games, hardware for games, watching people play video games, and the content creator themselves. People watching other people play video games has inspired more people to play games and, in turn, spend more money on gaming. The relationships between these different groups of individuals continues to be complementary to each other, which I believe has been the catalyst for the remarkable growth that the industry continues to see.

“The games that have found long term success and a loyal fan base on YouTube are the ones that allow players to create their own narratives.”

This will only continue to get bigger as more people are choosing to play and watch video games. As mobile gaming continues in popularity, we see in parallel that of the top games watched on YT in 2020, four were games available on mobile devices 1 . Over the next five years, the lines between playing and watching will continue to blur through partnerships with games and an expansion of platforms. You could be watching a live stream on YouTube, click a button and jump right into the action yourself, or receive a digital item to use next time you jump into the game after watching. The ability for viewers, creators, and players to influence one another will open the door to types of gaming we haven't even imagined yet. And as mobile devices and infrastructure continue to improve, players around the globe who don't have access to PCs, consoles, or cloud platforms will be right in there with them. These trends show no signs of slowing down, setting mobile up for continued massive growth.

I firmly believe gaming videos will continue to engage both spectators and players in the same way the world of sports has captured audiences: with both athletes and fans actively participating. But what will set Gaming apart is that publishers, creators, and viewers will influence each other in ways traditional sports never could. There’s no doubt the gaming ecosystem has evolved since my days at Major League Gaming. Back then, the stereotype of gamers was some dude playing video games alone in a basement.. That cliche has proven to be misguided as billions across the world are not just playing, but choosing gaming video as their primary category of content to consume. Today, we see larger, more diverse audiences connecting and actively exploring rich, high-gloss alternative realities. And they’re looking for a different kind of experience — one that’s customizable and ignites curiosity, and at YouTube we will always ensure that we are the home for Gamers to do just that.

1 https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/youtube-gaming-2020/

Global insights

What should game developers make of ever-shifting preferences in both games and gaming content? When ideating, keep high-growth genres in mind to inspire your next creation. Here are genres gamers around the world are paying attention to as they search for their next experience: 7

Partner perspective

A considered, focused and responsible strategy: That’s the key to launching a game globally. Ethan Wang, Vice President of NetEase uncovers the process behind a global launch, using real-life case studies to do the talking. From product development to market segmentation, discover what goes into developing an internationally recognised game with Navigating Global Launches.

Player behavior

What's keeping gamers engaged?

Retention is a matter of keeping them engaged and delighted. Top games have a 45% higher day 7 retention rate than industry average, meaning they retain their community by understanding their differing preferences. Here are some key shifts in game engagement globally: 1,2

Over the last decade, APAC has become a gaming powerhouse, influencing developers in every other major market. Thanks to the widespread adoption of low-cost smartphones and affordable broadband, as well as a booming population, the audience and developer community for connected games in the region is surging...

Over the last decade, APAC has become a gaming powerhouse, influencing developers in every other major market. Thanks to the widespread adoption of low-cost smartphones and affordable broadband, as well as a booming population, the audience and developer community for connected games in the region is surging. Strong GDP growth also means people have more leisure time and more disposable income to spend on entertainment. As a result, the audience in Asia is rapidly shifting toward higher-quality gaming experiences, spurring continued innovation.

So, what do these converging trends mean? I’m often asked how game developers can stay ahead of the curve by finding success in the APAC market. To them, I say: the ever-evolving environment means ‘cracking the code' to success in APAC can be achieved in more avenues than ever before. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, here are key insights to keep top of mind:

APAC is not a monolithic market and should be explored in detail

APAC is the biggest gaming market at a global level, and its sophisticated gamers and game ecosystem continue to raise the bar for continued innovation and product quality. However, it’s important to keep in mind that although the market is often spoken about as a region, audiences vary widely from one country to the next.

In mature markets like Japan and Korea, for example, players tend to prefer hard core genres like roleplaying or simulation due to their long PC/console history. They have more money to spend, and their expectations for game play and new features are high. Emerging gaming markets like Southeast Asia and India continue to experience high growth as a larger number of consumers go online via smartphones while Australia and New Zealand are also seeing increased growth as game studios and user acquisition knowledge continue to mature. In those markets, key played genres tend to be casual and hyper casual games. Players are not willing to spend as much money as in mature markets, therefore studios tend to be making money through alternatives to in-app purchases (IAP) like in-app advertising. In China, we see a mix of both: higher paying hard-core gaming fans in the largest cities, more casual and price-sensitive players in suburban areas.

Developers must put in the effort to understand their target audiences and what they're looking for. In order to succeed, studios must deeply understand the audience they’re targeting before trying to win it over and be innovative in capturing their attention. They must master localization, game design and mechanics, preferred transaction methods and revenue models for each audience if they wish to be successful. A recent trend I’ve noticed that is an excellent example of innovating for a new audience is the rise in genre-mixing: when a game mixes new gameplay with traditional methods to improve retention and attract new players (i.e. combining a puzzle game with an anime art style).

Monetization strategies should evolve not just per region, but per country

Ten years ago games were sold almost exclusively as if they were physical goods; today this accounts for perhaps 5% of total revenue. Developers need to combine multiple ways of making money, whether via a diverse games portfolio with different revenue models for each, or by mixing up different streams in a single game based on player behavior.

Game developers should combine as many revenue streams as possible, and to keep doing so as long as it remains effective — whether it’s a varied portfolio of games with different monetization streams in every game, or different streams in a single game, the more diversified a developer is, the higher its likelihood to be successful in maximizing the lifetime value (LTV) of its users. For example, if I am the CEO of a Japanese studio launching an IAP-only game in India or Vietnam, I may be leaving money on the table given the payer percentage is very low in emerging markets vs mature ones. I should know my markets and users, and adopt a hybrid monetization approach that combines both in-app advertising and IAP. This way, I will be capturing the most value from non-payers (in Vietnam and India, a larger proportion than in Japan or Korea), and from potential purchasers (via IAP).

Remember: revenue may be king, but engagement is the kingdom. As players become more engaged (emotionally and socially) with a title, they are naturally more willing to spend (or engage with brand activations) further down the line. Experimenting with how your content can bring your community joy is key to sustainable success.

Growth in female gamers continue to outpace that of male gamers

As of 2019, China is home to one of the highest populations of female gamers in the world: 45% of Chinese gamers are women and this segment continues growing at a rate of nearly 14.8% per year — nearly double the male growth rate at 7.8%. When considering this insight, it’s also important to call out that this growth isn’t limited to age range, either. In fact, a particular segment I find fascinating is the rise of the female/senior player in China (银发族).

Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia have also high female player populations, with 40% share of audience 1 . This growth is also accounted for from a revenue standpoint. In 2019, female players accounted for 35% of the mobile games revenue, and in 2020 we’re expecting that number to increase up to 39% 2 . The pandemic was one factor that accelerated this growth, and we expect to continue seeing strong growth among women gamers.

Collaborate with local members of the gaming community

One of the most amazing things about the gaming ecosystem in Asia is the evolving sense of community and the role communities play. At the start of our industry, developers were working independent of each other. Now developers would go out of their way to help each other, even when they compete in some areas. The drive to stay competitive is seen as a communal challenge and is at the core of the region’s innovation over the last decade.

With so many opportunities continuing to unveil themselves every year, we've been urging developers to expand their horizons. If you make casual games, consider making hard core titles or creating hybrids that combine genres to appeal to different types of players. If you rely mostly on ad revenue, consider introducing IAPs. Not every industry embraces community the way game developers do — turn towards it and let inspiration, experimentation, and collaboration guide your next big hit. At Google APAC, our mission is to support our developers throughout their lifecycle — whether you are an independent game developer, or part of a big game studio. I look forward to continuing our commitment to maintain and grow a healthy gaming ecosystem and content creators.

1 https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/levelup_asiagamingindustryreport_2020.pdf

2 https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/levelup_asiagamingindustryreport_2020.pdf

They’re problem solvers. Forward-thinkers. People-focused. Niantic is evolving the player experience for gamers across the globe. Vice-President of Games, Greg Borrud, taps into the creative process behind Niantic’s success to reveal the mechanics of building captivating, immersive and uniting worlds. Evolve the Player Experience answers the questions of tomorrow, today.

Watchtime hours of live gaming streams on YouTube in 2020

The global pandemic has had an enormous impact on the gaming industry, and games have had a huge impact on us. More than ever, gaming has become a source of connection and community for people around the world while we sheltered in place...

The global pandemic has had an enormous impact on the gaming industry. More than ever, gaming has become a source of connection and community for people around the world while we shelter in place. Over the last year, we’ve seen how staying at home has meant the number of people playing games increased dramatically. The kinds of games people play changed significantly. Mobile game downloads increased 75% in between Q1’ ‘19 - Q1 ‘20, and gaming livestream watchtime increased 45%. According to GameAnalytics , playtime hit a peak of 90M+ hours in the last 10 days of March, a 62% increase compared to the first 10 days of January.

The nature of this “new normal” is one of an integrated experience. As there are new limitations to the number of in-person experiences, players’ relationship to gaming has transformed. People are engaging with games more often during the day, but for shorter periods of time. They’re playing games for different reasons — often just to stay connected with distant friends and family. New audiences for games that developers may have ignored or minimized in the past are now demanding to be embraced as gaming becomes a fundamental part of socially connected experiences.

Games are becoming more integrated into daily lives

With gaming becoming more embedded in our lives, more people are experiencing games in a non-linear fashion. This is especially true for people who’ve been asked to manage kids kept home from school while also trying to get a little work done. Instead of going on six-hour raids, they might play for six minutes during downtime at work or between meals. Cloud-based platforms like stadia enable this by allowing players to stop a game and pick where they left off, or to start a game on one device and continue on another.

As a result of these smaller time increments, people are engaging in different types of activities when they play. Instead of advancing a game's narrative, for example, they might spend that time customizing a character or connecting with a guild mate.

In order to accommodate these changing behaviors, game developers should explore building less rigidly defined experiences. For example, creating more short demos for people to sample, or brief loops they can quickly complete within a longer game. Developers should also consider ways to make it easier for players to hop in and out of the action, by designing their games with cloud gaming platforms in mind.

Games are how people create and maintain connections

As has become clear over the course of the pandemic, people are using games to connect with family and friends they can’t see in person. This ability to play together while physically apart will only become more important over time. Gaming platforms have enabled the ability to engage much larger groups at once, enabling new communities to form and new types of gameplay to evolve.

Because the audience is broader, and playtime is more distributed over the day, there is also increased competition for players' attention. Game studios are no longer just competing against other games. They're competing against everything else people are doing with their free time, like watching Netflix or going for a bike ride.

Developers need to focus on what motivates this new breed of gamers — why they're playing, and what they hope to get out of it. They need to reward players more frequently and in more personalized ways to keep them engaged, and invest more effort into fostering communities that grow over time.

Games must not leave behind inclusion when searching for new audiences

Gaming should be something everyone enjoys, yet there is an enormous audience of potential gamers that remains largely untapped, whether it’s seniors or lower income people who don’t have the means to spend $3000 on a gaming PC. For example, there are between 300 and 400 million people worldwide who suffer from one or more physical impairments — whether sight, hearing, motor or cognitive skills. Until recently, there hadn’t been a big emphasis on supporting disabled gamers by the gaming industry. Now, companies like Microsoft and Unreal have begun focusing on accessible experiences, such as text to speech. It’s critical that the industry address this market directly by building accessibility into the core game experience, creating an opportunity to make gaming truly inclusive for everyone.

Games are the center of democratizing joy

By bringing vibrant and diverse experiences to people through gaming, we can achieve what some of my colleagues at Google have called ‘the democratization of joy.’ Ultimately we’re aiming for a world where anyone can play virtually any game they want, on any device, for as long as they want. Connection, personalization, and accessibility will be keys to success in the digital gaming world going forward.

Monetization

What are gamers purchasing?

Player-first strategies

Top game developers see a much higher retention than industry average, suggesting they are building games people love to keep playing. The best monetization experiences for you and your users are when you’re able to offer them something of value in return that is aligned with their preferences. These preferences and behaviors have continued to evolve within the past year. 1

Number of casual gamers who spent more money on games during COVID-19

Gamers who have made in-game purchases

Gamers who have bought a new game

Paid content

• Purchasing currency for in-game transactions
• Buying a special bundle with useful in-game items
• Unlocking special / collectible / rare items for characters
• Customizing a character’s appearance 2

Can we balance play and profit? Rovio has run the numbers, and they’re proving it’s possible. Rovio CEO, Alexandre Pelletier-Normand explores how creative monetisation can enrich games. From the developers behind The Angry Birds, discover how this global organisation is evolving their operations to stay ahead of the curve with Connecting Play and Profit.

Developers of free-to-play games often struggle to find the best ways to monetize their titles. Should they rely on interstitial or banner ads? Offer in-game currency as a reward for viewing video ads? Aggressively promote in-app purchases? Develop a tiered subscription model? If you ask me, the answer to those questions is “yes.”...

Developers of free-to-play games often struggle to find the best ways to monetize their titles. Should they rely on interstitial or banner ads? Offer in-game currency as a reward for viewing video ads? Aggressively promote in-app purchases? Develop a tiered subscription model?

If you ask me, the answer to those questions is “yes.”

When you rely upon a single revenue stream, you’re almost always leaving money on the table. Armenia-based game development company Rockbite Games, for example, offers both in-app purchases and in-app ads. By providing two options to earn in-game currency, and by dynamically customizing their digital store through Firebase Remote Config , they were able to further increase their revenue.

Developers who want to maximize revenue and grow their studios need to employ a hybrid monetization strategy. But to avoid alienating their audience, they need to do it by adapting revenue models to each player's personal preferences — the same way they create dynamic content within a game. The key to this strategy is the intelligent application of analytics, which requires a few crucial steps.

Adopt a player-first strategy

Just as you use data to guide how game play unfolds, you should also use it to determine the monetization strategies that resonate the best with each player. Tools like Firebase and Google Analytics can offer rich insight into player behavior and help you predict which players will spend money inside the game and identify those who will not. By segmenting users, you can find opportunities to personalize each player's ad experience, optimizing your monetization strategy.

So the first step is to understand and segment all of your players. Which ones are high spenders? Who is unlikely to ever make an in-game purchase? Players who don’t want to spend money in-game may respond well to rewarded ads, while players who purchase items during game play may find such ads distracting.

The key is to match players with offers tailored to their preferences and behavior. PeopleFun, developer of popular casual games such as Wordscapes, wanted to introduce rewarded ads without cannibalizing revenue from in-app purchases. Using Firebase Predictions , PeopleFun was able to identify players who were less likely to make in-app purchases, and show rewarded ads only to them. The result: A significant boost in the lifetime value of all Wordscapes players.

Use data to drive your decisions

It's important to remember that just because a game is free-to-play doesn't mean the people who've downloaded it are averse to spending money. Similarly, if a type of ad format doesn't resonate with a user (or doesn't appeal to you, personally), it doesn't mean that it won't resonate with others. Assumptions, biases, or models that worked in someone else's game are not viable indicators of how your players will respond. When it comes down to it, successful monetization strategies are built on a foundation of experimentation.

Once you've segmented players based on their purchase behavior, intent, session duration, and other factors, you can test different variables to determine which types of offers work best for each segment. For example, Pomelo Games used Firebase Remote Config and A/B Testing inside its free-to-play game Once Upon a Tower to measure the effect of interstitial ads on revenue and retention. After two weeks of testing, Pomelo found that interstitials boosted ad and in-game revenue by 25% to 35%, with no discernible impact on retention.

Make monetization a core element

Hybrid monetization models maximize revenue without sacrificing the affordability that fans of free-to-play games love.

But monetization is not a feature that can be bolted on after a game is nearly completed. Some studios make the mistake of splitting production into two phases -- first designing gameplay, then focusing on driving revenue. This is a mistake. Your monetization strategy needs to be a core part of the development process, while remaining flexible enough to be optimized later based on testing.

While running experiments in a live game with actual players may seem scary, tools like Firebase and Google Analytics can allow you to easily create experiments and get insights from them without disrupting the player experience or requiring you to publish new versions of each game. In turn, you'll see a boost in earnings, and highly-engaged players enjoying an improved user experience.

Preferences

The method of consumption changes the experiences of gamers, and trends show the world is looking for more ways to experience the fun.

Gaming has changed tremendously since I first began designing games in 1999. The industry has gone from a niche hobby to a global juggernaut that's larger than music, movies, and books combined. And it shows no sign of slowing down. At the same time, game design has also evolved...

Gaming has changed tremendously since I first began designing games in 1999. The industry has gone from a niche hobby to a global juggernaut that's larger than music, movies, and books combined. And it shows no sign of slowing down. At the same time, game design has also evolved. The sheer number of designers has grown exponentially, and expanded into so many niches that there is rarely a single job title called 'game designer'. People who create free-to-play mobile games have little in common with developers working on AAA console or PC titles. And designers of those titles have become hyper-specialized by subgenre.

When the pandemic hit, the changes that were already underway went into overdrive. The need to shelter in place changed how and where game designers do their work. Downloads and cloud-based gaming surged. The types of games that were popular shifted almost overnight, as did players’ reasons for playing them.

Designers who want to succeed in the industry today need to be fluent in these macro trends. But some things that haven't changed: The need to tell a compelling story and to build a community around that storyline. If you can do those things consistently and well, you will thrive.

Innovation under pressure

Thanks to the pandemic, we have seen dramatic shifts in the industry over the past 12 months. But not all of the changes have been negative. It also drove huge innovation across the gaming space. For example, the need to work remotely led to a surge in distributed teams. Writers, artists, developers, and designers no longer have to be in the same place or even the same city to work on the same game. That’s especially true with cloud-based games, where people are already collaborating online.

When game development is more geographically distributed, the cost of producing a game decreases. People don’t have to live in expensive places like the Bay Area to be part of a team, so their overhead is lower. Studios can spend more money on design talent and support. And the people on those teams are likely to be from more diverse backgrounds, which almost invariably leads to greater creativity and innovation in game design.

The ability to work remotely and design games for cloud platforms like Stadia will ultimately allow smaller boutique studios to compete with the majors on a nearly equal basis. And that will benefit everyone.

A different kind of game

These days, the universe of gaming has expanded to include people who otherwise might never consider themselves ‘gamers.’ They may be older than your stereotypical gamer, or from different cultural backgrounds. And more of them are playing casual and mobile games than ever before.

They’re also playing games for different reasons. It’s less about competition and more about connection. In a time when people are still largely living apart, shared gaming experiences are helping to fulfill our need for community. Here, too, cloud-based games that can support larger numbers of players at once have an advantage.

We’ve also seen huge growth of nonviolent ‘feel good’ games that offer feelings of warmth and optimism. This concept of ‘hygge,’ a Danish word that translates roughly into ‘coziness or comfort,’ is a gaming trend we see growing stronger over time.

Story and community above all

Despite all the changes, a few constants remain. For example, two big influences on me as a young player and later as a designer were Sid Meier's Pirates and World of Warcraft . Both embodied universal truths that remain true today.

Pirates showcases how an intricate game still lives or dies on the strength of its storytelling. If I ever designed a game that weaves together mechanical systems with player-driven storytelling as elegantly as Pirates , I could die happy.

For its part, World of Warcraft demonstrated the power and potential of online connections. It created a community that was both so big and yet so closely interconnected that it has influenced every modern multiplayer game that followed. If the last couple of years have taught us anything, it’s the importance of play as a means of connecting with each other.

One of my favorite quotes often repeated by Grace Hopper is “a ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for”. I recently learned that this is from a book of adages by J. A. Shedd, and there is a phrase that precedes it: “When it is rose leaves all the way, we soon become drowsy; thorns are necessary to wake us.” I think about this a lot lately.

It seems to be a deep part of human nature that sometimes we need thorns to wake us. There can be no question that the coronavirus pandemic has been a tragedy the scope of which we will spend generations fully understanding. But our species is at its best, its most innovative, when challenges like this appear. The silver linings are bittersweet, but we carry on. And often, what these thorns reveal is our most human core -- the ways in which we are all connected.

As walls between platforms break down, the gaming industry’s leading minds answer your questions: How do we develop games for the future? What does the future of gaming sales look like? Is equality across platforms important? Join Kim Dae-Hwon, Vice President of New Development at Nexon as he takes a deep dive on The Multiverse of Multi-Platform.

As devices have become more powerful and connectivity more ubiquitous, the type of audiences playing games, the devices they use to play them, and the kinds of games they play has rapidly evolved. Game developers now need to develop experiences for a wide range of devices, with back-end services that support cross-play and cross-progression across devices....

As devices have become more powerful and connectivity more ubiquitous, the type of audiences playing games, the devices they use to play them, and the kinds of games they play has rapidly evolved. Game developers now need to develop experiences for a wide range of devices, with back-end services that support cross-play and cross-progression across devices. Prior to this change, high-fidelity games like Call of Duty required a dedicated gaming console or a high-end PC; now they can run on a mobile phone.

This emerging capability to enjoy titles across the device ecosystem has elevated players' expectations. Players now want engaging high fidelity experiences across a variety of platforms. This allows them to easily interact with friends and family, even if one player in the group uses a high-end console or gaming PC and the other is on her mobile phone. Players want to start a game at home on a console and bring it with them on the road with a mobile platform. Throughout all of this, players expect their purchases, rewards, and progression to be reflected and available across platforms.

Although this concept of cross-device play seemingly democratizes access globally to tier one titles, there are inhibitors limiting the reach to new audiences. First, high-fidelity experiences require high-end devices with powerful processors and GPUs and sufficient memory. These devices are affordable and available in developed markets to modestly large populations of gamers. However, these high-end devices are beyond the reach of people in many parts of the world, greatly limiting high quality game content reach to players globally.

“This emerging capability to enjoy titles across the device ecosystem has elevated players' expectations.”

Game streaming offers a solution to this problem, transforming a computationally demanding game into a stream of video bits that can be easily consumed by any commodity device. This is accomplished by moving the powerful processors, GPUs, and memory from the device into a cloud data center and delivering the game as a stream. A key requirement to make streaming work is low latency and consistent bandwidth between the consumer device and the cloud data center. This introduces a challenge, though: many of the places in the world that could most benefit from this democratization of gaming content — rural areas and emerging markets such as South America, Africa, and Eastern Europe — are too distant from cloud data centers for streaming to work as intended.

The solution to bringing the democratizing benefits of game streaming to global audiences is through edge computing. Edge computing shifts powerful CPUs and GPUs from large centralized cloud data centers to decentralized locations much closer to players all around the world, including telco and enterprise edge locations. This shift to the network edge of these powerful computing resources truly opens up the benefits of game streaming to many more locations.

Edge computing brings great promise for players, by delivering high quality streams to all types of devices. However, this shift from a centralized model with tens of cloud data centers to a decentralized model with thousands of edge locations introduces new levels of complexity for game developers. Without a centralized and standardized framework to manage edge computing resources, a game developer would need to interact with dozens of edge providers around the world, each with diverse technology stacks.

“This shift to the network edge of these powerful computing resources truly opens up the benefits of game streaming to many more locations.”

Google’s Anthos platform is designed to solve this problem by providing a centralized control plane for compute resources that run both in the cloud and at the edge. This enables game developers large and small to realize the combined benefits of cloud and edge computing without taking on all of the massive operational overhead of dealing with dozens of different providers and tech stacks. Games which run out of tens of cloud locations today serving primarily large metros and the developed world can run from hundreds or thousands of locations tomorrow serving a truly global audience — bringing an entirely new and more inclusive generation of players into the world of gaming and interactive experiences.

The proliferation of high-fidelity game experiences to a global audience is only the beginning of the potential that edge computing provides. Take for instance, today’s multiplayer gaming experiences. They’re optimized for network latency of about 50 - 250 milliseconds between the player and cloud data centers. That’s sufficient to power games which run entirely on screens in your living room, on your gaming PG, or on your phone. However, there are whole new classes of interactive experiences that exclusively become possible with the lower latency that only edge computing can provide. This ultra low latency (think 1 - 20 milliseconds) could enable new augmented reality and virtual reality experiences that are simply not possible in today’s world.

“Games which run out of tens of cloud locations today can run from hundreds or thousands of locations tomorrow.”

Imagine that you are attending a sporting event in a 5G-enabled stadium. You hold up your phone and real-time statistics are composited over video of players as they move around the field. Ball-tracking is rendered into the live video to assist visually impaired spectators more easily keep track of the action. And perhaps even 3D models of historical all-star players run plays along with real players on the field. These use cases become possible with the introduction of low-latency rendering and streaming of 3D content from the edge.

Or consider the possibilities at a 5G-edge enabled theme park: why wait for an appointment or trek across the park to meet with your favorite character, when that character can join you and your family at the lunch table interactively streamed to your device? Characters can react and interact instantaneously when the content is delivered at ultra low latency deployed in the theme park. Once unlocked at the theme park, these interactive experiences can be taken home extending the experience and engagement.

Edge computing and streaming present compelling new opportunities to create entirely new types of interactive experiences via virtual reality, augmented reality, and interactive streaming. Cloud providers, telcos, and private operators are busy building out the edge compute infrastructure to power these experiences. As this infrastructure deployment progresses, Google Cloud for Games is excited to partner with game developers and enterprises to unleash developer creativity with these new capabilities and deliver next-gen experiences to players and users globally.

Pitching is an art form unto itself. Whether you're promoting your game to publishers, investors, potential team members, journalists, or platforms like Stadia, the best pitches all have similar things in common. Here's what separates a truly memorable pitch from an ordinary one....

As Director of Business Development at Stadia, my job is to identify the world's best games and bring them to our platform. Over my career I've been fortunate enough to meet with thousands of game developers and publishers from around the world to get an early look at games during the creation process. What I love about my job is that just when I think I've seen it all, someone comes into my office (or nowadays, joins the video call) and shows me something I've never seen before.

Pitching is an art form unto itself. Whether you're promoting your game to publishers, investors, potential team members, journalists, or platforms like Stadia, the best pitches all have similar things in common.

Here's what separates a truly memorable pitch from an ordinary one:

Bring the passion

It’s important to see game developers bring as much energy and passion to the pitch session as they do to creating the games, as well as the same storytelling and design skills. This is your opportunity to give voice to your creation and help people understand why you’re so excited to bring it to the world of players. Translating the magic is key to creating a lasting impression.

I’ll give you an example: when id Software was showing us DOOM Eternal for the first time, I wondered if it was possible to top their previous masterpiece in 2016, which had re-invented one of the world’s most beloved game franchises, and had become one of my favorite games of all time. They could have easily rested on their laurels and reiterated their previous success, but the team communicated their vision for the game in such a crisp and powerful way that the excitement in the room was palpable. They were able to take their enthusiasm for what they were creating and make it infectious — as if it were their first. That is the power of true storytelling.

Tell me why your game is unique

Why does this game need to exist? What does it offer that no other game has? Give me a crisp, high-level description of what your game is about and who it's for. Once you’ve established this, frame why your specific team is the perfect one to bring this concept to life. An investment in any game is really an investment in the people behind the game, yet this is the one thing many developers leave out of their pitches.This is especially important if you’ve already got a track record building games. Build the belief in your team and you’ll have an easier time getting buy-in, whether you’re looking for money, marketing, or help with resources.

Don't just tell — show

There's no substitute for a hands-on experience. I highly recommend bringing something playable or showable with you to the pitch session, to make it real and prove you’ve really found the fun. If it's a video, consider sending it ahead of your pitch session so we have a chance to look at it and come to your session with a memorable impression. This is especially helpful during a time where everyone is working from home and unable to experience your game in person. In order to prevent potential technical difficulties and keep the presentation flowing, I’ve seen demos with recorded voiceover to the video. That way their voice continues to engage with the audience as the video plays.

Tailor the pitch to your audience

While the fundamentals of your pitch won’t vary much from one meeting to the next, you’ll want to fine tune it for the people in the room. If you’re pitching to me, I’ll want to know more than whether it delivers a great gaming experience. I’ll want to know why it’s a great gaming experience on our platform . If you’re creating a game that takes advantage of unique Stadia features like Crowd Play, Crowd Choice, State Share, or Stream Connect, that needs to be central to your pitch. When we see game developers use these features (called Stadia Enhanced Features or "SEFs") in new and innovative ways, that almost always catches our attention, as it can help both the game and YouTube creators engage audiences like never before, and naturally highlights features that make playing games on Stadia unique.

If you’re pitching to a publisher or a design director, you’ll want to go deeper on game play and character creation, the game engine you’ll be using or the end user devices you’re targeting. If you’re seeking funding, you need to talk about where you are in the development process. If you want help with marketing or getting coverage, you’ll need to discuss the audience for your game: who will be playing it? Are you targeting a specific gaming community? What’s your strategy for attracting content creators?

Be clear about what you want

Making an impression is one thing, opening up a conversation is another. Through all the bells and whistles of crafting a memorable pitch, there have been teams whose asks get lost in translation: What is it you’re looking for? What do you hope to get out of this meeting? It could be funding, platform support, coverage, or something else. If getting a positive reaction to your pitch is step 1, what is step 2? Approach your pitch from a micro level (what happens in the room) and a macro level (what happens afterward). The best pitches speak directly to me and the others in the room, where it’s clear the developers have done their homework and understand what we’re trying to do as a business.

I hope this advice leaves you energized and inspired to tell the story of your game with as much energy and enthusiasm as you put in to create the game itself. Take the time to understand the wants and needs of your audience, keep the material and your delivery engaging, and close with what it is you are looking for. With this in mind, remember that pitching is an art form, so have fun with it, get creative, and good luck out there - you got this!

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2021 Gaming Industry Statistics, Trends & Data

Do you need the latest video game statistics and trends?

The team here at GamingScan has spent 1100+ cumulative hours to research, analyze and create this page with the most recent video game statistics.

You can click or hover on a statistic or graph to see more visualizations and data. Please feel free to use or embed our images and statistics for personal or commercial use. Just make sure to use our attribution link in order to credit GamingScan .

Last Updated: June 2021

Revenue By Countries

Top 10 Countries/Markets by Game Revenues  – NewZoo, 2019

Video Game Industry Market Overview  – Bloomberg, Pelham Smithers

Where Are Game Developers Born?  – Bigfish Games, IGDA, 2016

Top Developers

Retail revenue of the U.S. video game industry from January 2017 to July 2019 (in billion U.S. dollars)  – Statista, GameStop, 2019

Activision Blizzard’s revenue from 2015 to 2018, by platform (in million U.S. dollars)  –  Statista, Activision Blizzard, 2019

Total worlwide hardware sales per platform- Hardware,  –  VGChartz, 2019

Total worlwide hardware sales per platform- Software,   –  VGChartz, 2019

Electronic Arts’ net income/loss in the fiscal years 2005 to 2019 (in million U.S. dollars)   – Statista, Electronic Arts, 2019

Tencent’s Revenue Growth in Online Games (Year-over-Year)  –  Market Realist, Tencent’s filings, 2019

Revenue generated by Ubisoft worldwide from 2010 to 2019  –  Statista,Ubisoft, 2019

Revenue generated by Ubisoft in the financial year 2018/2019, by region (in million euros)  – Statista,Ubisoft, 2019

Top 10 best-selling videogame consoles  – Guinness World Records, VGChartz.com, 2018

Percentage of game developers working on game projects for selected platforms worldwide in 2019  – Statista, Game Developers Conference, 2019 

Gaming Industry Overview

Top 10 Most Popular Game Genres Dominating the Global Gaming Market 2019   – Techanavio, 2019

RPGs and shooters are the most played genres for PC   – TechJury, SuperData Research, 2019

Genre breakdown of video game sales in the United States in 2018  – Statista, Entertainment Software Association, 2018

Video Game genres in different countries worldwide in 2018  – cabletv.com, 3-bit Gamer, 2018

A brief history  – Business Insider, GAMR, Visualcapitalist.com, 2017

How much is the gaming industry worth? Think Billions  – Reuters, Newzoo, Activision Blizzard, 2019

Global unit sales of current generation video game consoles  – Metro, VGChartz, 2019

Global Games Market per device & segment with year-on-year growth rates – 2019   – NewZoo, 2019

2018-2022 Global Games Market forecast per segment toward 2022   – NewZoo, 2019

2019 Global Games Market per region with year-on-year growth rates  – NewZoo, 2019

Consumer (Package and Digital Download Contents) Market   – Capcom, 2016

PC Online Market  – Capcom

Mobile Content Market   – Capcom, 2016

Global Games Market per Screen & Segment with Year-on-Year growth Rates   – NewZoo, 2019

Annual revenue of the U.S. video game industry from 2016-2018  – Statista, SuperData Research, 2018

Factors influencing decisions to purchase video games   – Digital Marketing Community, The ESA, 2017

Consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories in the U.S.  – Statista, The ESA, The NPD Group, 2019

% of game developers most interested in/currently developing for the following platforms  – PC Mag, Game Developers Conference, 2019

The Value of PC Gaming Market Industry in million U.S. dollars (2011-2020)  – Newzoo, 2018

PC and console games revenue worldwide from 2012 to 2022  – Newzoo, 2018

Top System Manufacturers   – Laptop Mag, 2019

Shipment forecast of laptops, desktop PCs and tablets worldwide from 2010-2023 (in million units)  – Canalys , Statista estimates, 2019

Market Share per Country   – Newzoo, 2019

Most Popular Core PC Games- Global by June 2019   – Newzoo, 2019

The Worldwide Revenue Generated by Free-to-Play and Pay-to-Play MMO Games in Million U.S. Dollars by region (2016)  – Statista, SuperData Research, 2016

Top 10 free to play digital games by worldwide revenue in 2018   – GameIndustry.biz, SuperData Research, 2018

Sony PlayStation

Sony’s revenue worldwide by segment fiscal years 2012 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)  – Statista, Sony, 2019

Unit sales of Sony’s PlayStation consoles worldwide from 2011 to 2019 (in millions), by quarter  – Statista, Sony, 2019

Installed base of video game systems in the U.S. in 2017, by platform (in millions)  – Statista, Fraunhofer, 2019

Microsoft Xbox

Worldwide Estimated Installed Base of Microsoft Game Consoles in million Units – 2018  – Statista, Bank of America, Merill Lynch, 2019

Xbox 360 and Xbox One gaming consoles unit sales worldwide from 2005 to 2018 (in millions)   – Statista, Microsoft earnings reports, 2019

Unit sales of Nintendo’s home consoles from 1997 to 2019 (in millions)   – Statista, Nintendo, 2019

Cumulative lifetime unit sales of Nintendo’s latest video game consoles March 2018  – Statista, Nintendo, 2019

Nintendo’s net sales from fiscal 2008 to 2019 (in million U.S. Dollars)  – Statista, Nintendo, 2019

Nintendo’s revenue from fiscal 2014 to 2019, by region (in million Japanese yen)   – Statista, Nintendo, 2019

Top selling Nintendo DS game titles worldwide as of March 2019 (in million units)   – Statista, Nintendo, 2019

Top selling Nintendo Wii game titles worldwide as of March 2019 (in million units)   – Statista, Nintendo, 2019 

Top selling Nintendo 3DS game titles worldwide as of March 2019 (in million units)  – Statista, Nintendo, 2019

Top selling Nintendo Switch game titles worldwide as of March 2019 (in million units)   – Statista, Nintendo, 2019

Nintendo 3DS hardware sales worldwide from fiscal year 2011 to 2018 (in million units)   – Statista, Nintendo, 2019

Nintendo’s Greatest Hits (and Misses)   – Statista, Nintendo, Media reports, 2019

Best selling console games in Japan in 2018, by unit sales (in million units)   – Statista, Famitsu, 2019

Nintendo Switch purchaser age and gender distribution- 2017   – GamesIndustry.biz, PlayerPulse, 2019

Mobile Gaming

Mobile gaming revenue worldwide in 2016 and 2023, by operating system (in million U.S. dollars)   – Statista, SuperData, 2019

Distribution of worldwide mobile application revenues in 2017, by channel   – Statista, AdColony, 2019

Top grossing iPhone mobile gaming apps in the U.S. as of May 2019, ranked by daily revenue   – AppAnnie, 2019

Most popular Apple App Store categories in May 2019, by share of available apps   – Statista, PocketGamer.biz, 2019

Mobile is the highest growth segment of the gaming industry- revenues in U.S. dollar billions 2017-2021   – Medium, Newzoo, 2018

Consumer Spend in Games in Select Countries- Two Year Growth   – AppAnnie, 2019

Top Games by Download   – AppAnnie, 2019

Mobile Gaming revenue worldwide in 2016-2023, by genre (in million U.S. dollars)   – Statista, SuperData Research, 2019

Worldwide Gross Mobile Game Revenue- Q1 2019   – SensorTower, 2019

Global Player Spending in Top Mobile Battle Royale Titles- May 2019    – SensorTower, 2019

PUBG Mobile Worldwide Monthly Player Spending   – SensorTower, 2019

Zynga’s Mobile Platform Revenues Comparing to Its Peers  Forbes, dashboard.trefis.com, 2019

Unlike its Peers, Zynga Derives Most of Its Revenues from the Mobile Platform  -dashboard.trefis.com, 2019

Top 10 Richest Mobile Game Companies  – Fraghero, 2019

Annual revenue generated by Rovio Entertainment’s games divisions, developer of Angry Birds  – Statista, Rovio, 2019

Most mobile gamers play late at night  – VentureBeat, Pew Research Center, 2018

Leading mobile app publishers in the United States as of March 2019, by share of total app time spent  – Statista, Verto Analytics, 2019

Most popular mobile gaming related apps in the United States as of March 2019, by monthly users (in millions)  – Statista, Verto Analytics, 2019

Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality

Share of Americans familiar with VR and perceived barriers to adoption   – Statista, YouGov, 2019

VR Purchase Intent   – Business Insider Intelligence, 2016

VR Inhibitors   – The Verge, Oculus, HTC, Valve, Sony, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, 2019

Worldwide VR & AR Headset shipments   – Statista, IDC, 2019

Worldwide VR & AR revenue   – Statista, Digi-Capital, 2019

Worldwide unit shipments of AR and VR headsets in 2017 (in thousands)   – Statista, TrendForce, 2019

Unit shipments of virtual reality (VR) devices worldwide from 2017 to 2019 (in millions), by vendor   – Statista, TrendForce, 2019

US Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Users 2017-2021 in millions   – eMarketer charts, 2019

Virtual reality and augmented reality (VR and AR) devices average session time in the United States as of 2018 (in minutes)   – Statista, Technalysis Research; Statista estimates, 2019

Share of virtual reality and augmented reality (VR and AR) users in the United States as of 2018, by type of device   – Statista, Technalysis Research; Statista estimates, 2019

Virtual reality and augmented reality (VR and AR) devices user satisfaction rate in the United States as of 2018    – Statista, Technalysis Research; Statista estimates, 2019

Evolution of Augmented Reality  –  Sciforce, 2019

Market Predictions of AR   – Sciforce, 2019

Smart augmented reality glasses unit shipments worldwide from 2016 to 2022 (in thousands)   – Statista, Tractica, 2019

Forecast user base of the augmented and virtual reality software   – Statista, Goldman Sachs, 2019

Gamers’ usage frequency of virtual reality and augmented reality devices in the United States as of 2018   – Statista, Technalysis Research; Statista estimates, 2019

Interest in virtual reality (VR) technology in Europe in 2016, by gamer type   – Statista, gamesindustry.biz; Ipsos, 2019

Virtual reality input systems unit sales worldwide from 2015 to 2018 (in million)   – Statista, KZero, 2019

Virtual reality input systems revenue worldwide from 2015 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)  – Statista, KZero, 2019

Share of virtual reality users worldwide by type of device in 2016   – Statista, SuperData Research, 2019

Gamer Demographics

Percentage of devices played in households   – VentureBeat, The NPD Group, 2015

Distribution of computer and video gamers in the U.S. from 2006 to 2019   – Statista, Entertainment Software Association, 2019

The most common devices used for video game play among adult gamers   – Limelight Networks, 2019

Gamers play throughout the day   – Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Who are the most frequent gamers playing with?   – Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Social & Lifestyle  – Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Average gamers by age group  –  Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Percentage of female gamers around the world   – Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Percentage of gamers who belong to the LGBT+ community in the U.S.   – EnGadget, Gaymer Survey, 2008

Share of players who experienced harassment in selected prominent video games- April 2019  –  Statista, ADL’s Center on Technology and Society, 2019

Percentage of US teens ethnicity who play video games   – Statista, SuperData Research, 2019

Percentage of video game adult gamers in selected countries – August 2019   – Statista Global Consumer Survey, 2019

Millennial Gamers (18-34)   –  Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Gen X Gamers (35-54)   –  Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Baby boomer Gamers (55-64)  -Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Families and Video Games  –  Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Share of parents/teens who have witnessed/experienced the following on Fortnite    – Statista, Common Sense Media, 2019

Most gamers feel computer and video games provide more value for their money   – Entertainment Software Association, 2019

Monthly Spending – Full Game vs. In game content   – SuperData Research, 2018

Most popular in-game purchases by subscribers   – SuperData Research, 2018

The average Time spent playing games and leisure per Capita on Weekdays and Weekends/Holidays of individuals in the U.S., in Minutes and by Age group (2016)   – Statista, Common Sense Media, 2019

Marketing & Influence

Most played games on Steam in 2018, by peak number of concurrent players (in  1, 000s) – Statista, Steam, GitHyp, 2019

Number of peak concurrent players of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) on Steam worldwide from April 2017 to April 2019 (in 1,000s)   – Statista, Steam Charts, 2019

Number of peak concurrent Steam users from November 2012 to October 2018 (in millions)  -Statista, Steam, 2019

Number of peak concurrent players of DOTA 2 on Steam worldwide as of June 2019 (in 1,000s)   – Statista, GitHyp, 2019

Top Publishers Watched in Q1’19   – Streamlabs, Newzoo, 2019

10 Top Gaming Influencers to follow in 2019  -Mediakix, Twitch, Youtube, Caffeine.tv, 2019

10 Top Female Gamers on Youtube in  August 2019   – Wondershare, Twitch, Youtube, 2019

Hours Watched by Platform in Q1 ’19   – Streamlabs, Newzoo, 2019

Hours Streamed by Platform in Q1 ’19   –  Streamlabs, Newzoo, 2019

Average Viewer Per Live Stream in Q1 ’19   – Streamlabs, Newzoo, 2019

Unique Channels By Platform in Q1 ’19   – Streamlabs, Newzoo, 2019

eSports market revenue worldwide from 2012 to 2022   – Statista, Newzoo, Yahoo, 2019

eSports audience size worldwide from 2012 to 2022, by type of viewers   – Newzoo, 2019

Leading eSports tournaments worldwide as of March 2019, ranked by overall prize pool   – Statista, e-Sports Earnings, 2019

In the US, eSports will have more viewers than every professional sports league but the NFL in 2021   – Statista, eSports Marketing Blog, 2019

Number of unique viewers of selected eSports tournaments worldwide as of January   –  MBA @ Syracuse, Syracuse University, 2018

Global Esports Audience in millions   – Business Insider Intelligence, 2018

Esports market global revenue in U.S dollars   – Statista, Newzoo, Yahoo, 2019

2019 eSports Revenue Streams – Global, including Year-on-Year Growth   – Newzoo, 2019

Asia-Pacific will account for 57% of Esports Enthusiasts in 2019 Influencer   – MarketingHub, Newzoo, 2019

The Richest Pro Gamers in the World (2018)   – XE.com, 2018

The Worldwide eSports Market Revenue in Million U.S. Dollars by segment (2017)   – Statista, Newzoo, 2019

The Selected Industries in the U.S. and their Estimated Number of eSports Sponsorships (2017)   – Statista, Newzoo, 2019

The Worldwide Market Revenue of Gaming Video Content in million U.S. dollars by segment (2017)   – Statista, SuperData Research, 2019

Number of players of selected eSports games worldwide as of August 2017 (in million)   – Statista, SuperData Research, 2019

Television advertising spending of selected gaming companies in the United States in April 2019 (in million U.S. dollars)  –  Statista, iSpot.tv; VentureBeat, 2019

Winner’s prize money in selected individual sporting events in 2019   – Statista,Event organizers, 2019

Total hours spent watching Twitch   – Twitch Tracker, 2019

Twitch viewers and channels by month    – Twitch Tracker, 2019

10 Top  Gamers on Twitch in August 2019   – The Esports Observer, 2019

The 10 Richest Twitch Streamers in 2019   – MoneyInc, Twitch, 2019

Concurrent Twitch viewers aggregated by month  –  Twitch Tracker, 2019

Top Games on Twitch – Average Viewers  –  Twitch Tracker, 2019

Top Games on Twitch – Average Channels  –  Twitch Tracker, 2019

Most Watched Games on Twitch (2018)  –  Newzoo

Most Watched Games on Youtube Gaming (2018)   –  Newzoo

Top Languages used on Twitch   – Twitch Tracker

Concurrent Viewers by Platform   – Streamlabs, Newzoo

Fortnite Hours Watched on Twitch   – Twitch Tracker

Percentage of all videos posted on popular Youtube Channels, by subject   – Statista, Pew Research Center

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Gaming Global Market Report 2024

• February 2024
• Region: Global
• The Business Research Company
• ID: 5783082

Description

Table of contents, executive summary.

• Companies Mentioned

Methodology

Related topics, related reports.

• Purchase Options
• Ask a Question
• Recently Viewed Products
• Role-Playing
• Other Game Types
• Box/CD Game Purchase
• in-App Purchase-based
• Other Purchase Types

Reasons to Purchase

• Gain a truly global perspective with the most comprehensive report available on this market covering 50+ geographies.
• Understand how the market has been affected by the coronavirus and how it is responding as the impact of the virus abates.
• Assess the Russia - Ukraine war’s impact on agriculture, energy and mineral commodity supply and its direct and indirect impact on the market.
• Measure the impact of high global inflation on market growth.
• Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis.
• Identify growth segments for investment.
• Outperform competitors using forecast data and the drivers and trends shaping the market.
• Understand customers based on the latest market shares
• Benchmark performance against key competitors.
• Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high quality data and analysis
• Report will be updated with the latest data and delivered to you along with an Excel data sheet for easy data extraction and analysis.
• All data from the report will also be delivered in an excel dashboard format.

Report Scope

Markets covered:, companies mentioned (partial list).

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:

• Microsoft Corporation
• Nintendo Co. Ltd.
• Rovio Entertainment Corporation
• Nvidia Corporation
• Electronic Arts Inc.
• Sony Corporation
• Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.
• Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
• Nexon Company
• Activision Blizzard Inc.
• Ubisoft Entertainment SA
• Square Enix Holdings Co. Ltd.
• ZeptoLab OOO
• Tencent Holdings Ltd.
• Sega Games Co. Ltd.
• Capcom Co. Ltd.
• NetEase Inc.
• Interactive Entertainment Beijing Kunlun Technology Co. Ltd.
• Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.
• Konami Holdings Corporation
• GungHo Online Entertainment Inc.
• NCSoft Corporation
• Kakao Games Corp.
• Smilegate Holdings Inc.
• Gravity Co. Ltd.
• Pearl Abyss Corp.
• Com2uS Corp.
• LINE Corporation
• Wargaming Group Limited

United States Gaming - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts 2019 - 2029

•  Report
• United States

North America Gaming - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts 2019 - 2029

• North America

Global Gaming Market 2024-2028

Online Gaming Global Market Report 2024

Mobile Gaming Global Market Report 2024

About the gaming market.

The Gaming market is a broad term used to describe the industry of video game development and publishing. It encompasses the production, marketing, and distribution of video games, as well as the hardware and software used to play them. The industry is composed of a variety of companies, ranging from small independent developers to large multinational corporations. The gaming market is highly competitive, with companies vying for the attention of gamers. Companies must create innovative and engaging games to stand out from the competition. They must also invest in marketing and advertising to reach their target audience. Additionally, companies must stay up-to-date with the latest technology and trends in order to remain competitive. Some of the major companies in the gaming market include Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, and Take-Two Interactive. These companies are responsible for some of the most popular and successful video games in the world. Show Less Read more

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What’s possible for the gaming industry in the next dimension?

Gaming companies are entering a new dimension, no longer bound by place, time or physical reality..

Since its inception decades ago, the video gaming industry has grown with stunning speed. Over the last five years in particular, it has experienced significant expansion as users worldwide play games of all types across a variety of platforms. Video gaming is also on the verge of a major transformational shift due to the emergence of the metaverse — a shared, persistent, three-dimensional (3D) virtual realm where users interact with objects, the environment and each other through digital representations of themselves or avatars. While many believe that the metaverse will eventually be pervasive throughout society, including in the business world and on social media, gaming has quickly become a first mover in this space. With this in mind, we recently surveyed a group of executives from leading gaming companies to gain their insights about the impact of and outlook for the metaverse.

The state of the gaming industry

An estimated 2.9 billion people — more than one out of every three people on the planet — played a video game in 2021,¹ when global revenue for the industry exceeded $193 billion (see Figure 1). In addition, from 2016 to 2021, gaming grew at a compound annual growth rate of 15.6%.²

The video gaming industry also saw a considerable boost in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced people to stay home and utilize connected technology to access entertainment and to socialize. While this industry momentum appears poised to continue, global gaming revenue growth rates are expected to slow in 2022, as the industry faces difficult year-over-year comparisons, chip shortages slow the delivery of gaming devices and society “reopens” as pandemic restrictions fade.

Nevertheless, the favorable demographics (e.g., the participation of more female gamers), evolving technology and community-building nature that underpinned the industry long before the pandemic have not changed. By 2025, the gaming industry is expected to generate an estimated $211 billion in revenue, with mobile gaming contributing $116 billion.³

EY Gaming Industry Survey Methodology

Amid the rapid growth of gaming, its basic drivers are still familiar: processors are getting faster, improving graphics and the overall gaming experience. Console makers are also launching new hardware with better capabilities and offering more exclusive game titles. Moreover, global internet availability will continue to rise, enabling more people to play online games. Multiplayer games, mobile games and the population of casual gamers all are expected to continue to expand.

In addition, the rollout of 5G communication networks will greatly accelerate the uptake of mobile and cloud-based game delivery. Faster network speeds and reduced latency allow game developers more freedom in producing games because they are not confined by the limitations of hardware platforms. For players, this provides several new and exciting possibilities for gameplay that won’t tether them to existing devices. In addition to driving cloud gaming, 5G will allow consumers to use virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) gear on the go, providing a far richer mobile experience. According to a recent EY report, the 5G investment outlook for the next year remains strong.

How the metaverse will impact the gaming industry

The concept of a new digital universe is not a new one. It was originally conceived in a 1992 dystopian science fiction novel in which people use avatars to interact with each other in a futuristic virtual world. Today, this fictional universe is becoming a reality, with a number of early adopting gaming companies experimenting with a metaverse presence and many others formulating strategies for their own entry. How vast will the economic opportunity of the metaverse be? According to one estimate, the global metaverse market is expected to reach $280 billion by 2025.⁴

Gaming titles will continue to compete with one another, but because each title is just one of many “realms” in the metaverse, they will also compete with a seemingly endless number of destinations and activities. This could lead to significant change in gaming companies’ business models, the way they develop their products, the employee skill sets needed and even the way these companies are structured.

As it matures, the metaverse will continue to incorporate various technologies, such as VR, AR and 3D functionality. It is also associated with the decentralized Web 3.0 concept, which many view as the next chapter in the evolution of the internet. The metaverse will span multiple platforms, as well as the digital and physical realms. It will also create entirely new ways of interacting — and, for gaming companies, drive revenue.

Our survey on the metaverse and gaming industry growth

In late 2021, we teamed with Oxford Economics, a global economic forecasting firm to survey 200 of the gaming industry’s leading participants from North America, Asia and Europe. The companies represented have annual revenues ranging from $20 million into the billions and cover the entire gaming value chain — from console makers and gaming platform companies to game publishers and technology suppliers. Respondents include C-suite members, directors, senior VPs, heads of strategy and chief product officers.

TMT Gaming Survey Report (pdf)

Scott Porter EY US West Media & Entertainment Consulting Leader

John Harrison EY Americas Media & Entertainment Leader

Rich Golik EY Global Technology Media and Telecom (TMT) Senior Analyst

Sandeep Gupta EY Global Media and Entertainment Analyst

EY Gaming Industry Survey | Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Preparing for the future of gaming

EY Gaming Industry Survey | Main Page

Chapter 1: Competition that helps gaming companies innovate

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Gamer Survey: Young Players Reshape the Industry

Players want more immersive games and more interoperability.

By Anders Christofferson, Anders Videbaek, Alex Egan, Tom Rowland, and Matt Madden

• August 28, 2024

At a Glance

• The video game market reported $196 billion in revenue for 2023, outpacing streaming and box-office revenue combined; Bain forecasts 6% annual growth through 2028.
• Almost 80% of 2- to 18-year-olds are gamers, spending 30% of their entertainment time gaming, driving industry growth.
• Gamers do more than play games in the game setting: They socialize, shop, and watch video; those that do more tend to spend more.
• Gamers are co-creating the experience: 79% have played games with user-generated content, and 16% have made content for games.

This article is part of Bain's 2024 Gaming Report

Four years after what was assumed to be a pandemic-induced boost in popularity, the video game market continues to grow in all age groups, taking share of entertainment time and revenue from other media. The global market for video game revenue reached $196 billion in 2023, more than the combined revenue from streaming video ($114 billion), streaming music ($38 billion), and global box-office receipts ($34 billion). Bain estimates that the global market for video games could grow by about 6% annually through 2028, buoyed by tailwinds from mobile and stealing share from other media types (see Figure 1).

Video games’ global revenue could climb by 6% a year, reaching $257 billion by 2028

To learn more about the habits and expectations of gamers, we surveyed more than 5,000 people across six countries. From these insights, we’ve identified five key themes that game developers and publishers, device makers, and marketplace operators should understand in order to see where the industry and its consumer audience are moving:

• Young gamers drive growth.
• Gaming is about more than gameplay.
• Gamers are cocreating the experience.
• Gamers want to play across platforms and devices.
• Gaming IP is taking share in other media.

Young gamers drive growth

Gaming has broad appeal: 52% of people surveyed play video games on a regular basis. But the clearest source of future growth comes from the youngest players (2 to 18 years old), 80% of whom identified as gamers in our survey. Young gamers spend nearly 30% of their entertainment time in video game environments.

This isn’t a new phenomenon: Our 2022 survey found that half of teen gamers preferred spending time with friends in gaming environments rather than in the physical world. For this generation, video games are the modern mall, a place to hang out, see friends, and take in a variety of entertainment options. This audience expects video game companies to allow access from any platform, provide a diversity of experiences to consume, and enable them with the ability to create.

Older players (45 or older) are a smaller market with big potential, with 31% identifying as gamers. Those that do play tend to spend less time on average (2.5 hours per week compared with 9.5 hours for 13- to 17-year-olds) and mostly on mobile phones. TV remains a strong competitor for this audience, capturing almost 40% of their entertainment time. In contrast with young gamers, this cohort prefers a lower level of engagement, such as casual genres or video embedded in the game environment. As gaming becomes more accessible and consumers age, this demographic could be an important source of growth given their potential to spend more (see Figure 2).

Younger consumers spend a greater share of their entertainment budget on video games than older players

Gaming is about more than gameplay.

Gamers’ preference for immersive games—that is, those with expansive virtual environments, where players can socialize and play an active role in generating content—was accelerated by pandemic lockdowns, and it has continued to grow in the years since. Nearly half of the top 30 games can be considered immersive, and a third of gamers surveyed by Bain listed an immersive game as their top game. For gamers younger than 18, that percentage was closer to half. Many of these younger players consider gaming platforms such as Roblox or Fortnite a social community, similar to the way adults view WhatsApp or Facebook.

Immersive gamers are more engaged, spending about one and a half hours more per week in the game compared with non-immersive gamers. On average, they spend about one-third of that time on things other than gameplay, including socializing, creating, and shopping. They also spend more money on games, and the more things they do other than playing, the more they spend overall and on an hourly basis. In fact, players who engage in at least three activities other than gameplay spend about five times more per hour than gamers who just play (see Figure 3).

Gamers who do more than play games also spend more

The combination of these trends suggests that this heightened engagement among young gamers represents more than just kids having more time for games. Immersive gaming environments are becoming the center of social and entertainment activity for a group of consumers that will enter adulthood over the next few years. Given the heightened importance of these environments, we wouldn’t expect these consumers to abandon them as they mature—and grow richer. Instead, we expect that these gamers will continue to devote their time and spend their money and that they will demand more from the developers and publishers who provide these environments and experiences.

Gamers are cocreating the experience

Video has been dramatically changed over the past two decades by the rise of user-generated content (UGC). YouTuber MrBeast now has more subscribers than Netflix, and video platforms that depend on user content (including Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok) capture about 14% to 19% of total entertainment time in the prime 13 to 44 age group. The same shift is well underway in video games: 80% of gamers have played a game with UGC, and one in seven have created content in a video game (see Figure 4). About 80% of UGC creators say that they create content to express themselves creatively and for their friends to use and enjoy.

Most gamers have played games with user-generated content, and 16% have made content for games

Games offer creators different ways to engage. Minecraft’s objectives revolve around building and creating new parts of the world; creation is the game. In Roblox , gamers contribute to game development, creating new maps or games that other players can enjoy. In Grand Theft Auto V , gamers can personalize and customize items that they use in the game. Some games pay users to generate content, including Fortnite’s “Island Creator.”

Generative AI will accelerate this trend by empowering players with tools to fine-tune their gaming experience. Some players have become influencers or celebrities by streaming or commenting on games on platforms that rely on user-generated content, such as TikTok, Twitch, or YouTube. These influencers can generate more engagement in their gaming communities, increasing gameplay and spending.

Gamers want to play across platforms and devices

Social play beats solo play, and most gamers want to play with friends, whatever platform they’re on (see Figure 5). As gamers spend more time doing more in gaming environments, cross-device ubiquity becomes even more important as they want to engage with friends regardless of what device they’re on.

Nearly 70% of gamers play on at least two devices, and half said that they would like to see more accessibility across devices in future games. Cross-platform solutions are gaining traction: 95% of game development studios with more than 50 people are working on cross-platform games.

Interoperability across devices was a factor in two of the top three features gamers wanted

Gaming ip is taking share in other media.

More than half of gamers watched a show or movie based on a video game over the past year, an increase of 10 percentage points over 2022, reflecting higher demand and greater supply. Game-related shows and movies have a big impact on gameplay, with an average 28% lift in average concurrent users (ACUs) six months after their release. Resident Evil, for example, has a longstanding game and movie franchise dating back to the 1990s. The release of a Resident Evil show on Netflix in July 2022 boosted the ACU of the PC game Resident Evil 2 by 62% six months after the show’s debut. The 2020 movie Sonic the Hedgehog brought in more than $300 million at the box office and boosted the ACU of PC game Sonic Adventure 2 by 56% five months after its release. And the blurring goes both ways: Netflix says that it will bring its most popular stories to video games through its own Netflix Game Studio and that it’s partnering with Roblox to create a digital theme park: Nextworld.

Four imperatives for long-term success

These consumer trends are tailwinds indicating strong market growth ahead for the video game industry. However, rising competition from big tech and other media, as well as funding pressures, mean that not every gaming company will share the gains. A clearly defined growth strategy is critical to ensure long-term success. Our work with leaders in the industry suggests four imperatives that will help executives define their long-term strategies:

• Understand the customer.
• Expand the in-game world, including into the real world.
• Meet gamers where they want to be.
• Create new experiences to keep gamers engaged.

Understand the customer. Every group of gamers requires its own product and engagement strategy, and game companies should be conducting ongoing research and testing to refine their understanding of them. Determine the appropriate ways to reach them—be it through prelaunch research during game development, during soft launch trials, or through live operations updates throughout the game’s life cycle.

Game companies also need to consider a broader range of players as the definition of a gamer changes. Our survey results identified the important potential of older gamers on their mobiles. Some companies focus on the prime demographic of 12- to 24-year-olds, but they may be missing opportunities if they don’t expand their lens to consider how their games and IP could help them reach a wider audience.

Expand the in-game world, including into the real world. Given the trend of gamers wanting to spend time in immersive environments doing more than just playing the game, publishers and developers should think more broadly about the whole game experience. While they continue to build out the game, they may want to place more emphasis on aspects other than play, including social experiences, other media, opportunities for cocreation, trading, and locker management.

They should also be looking for opportunities to extend the game experience into the physical world, including partnerships that capitalize on game IP in movies, TV shows, theme parks, or other events and experiences. This opens up new commercial opportunities, such as the ability for a gamer to buy objects or clothing in the physical world and also get a digital version in the game.

Meet gamers where they want to be. As gamers increasingly want to play across platforms and devices, cross-platform games are becoming table stakes. Most game companies will need to make new investments in development and partnerships to make this possible. As distribution becomes more complex, it will become more important for developers to stay on top of developments in distribution so that they can stay close to their audience.

Create new experiences to keep gamers engaged. A strong core is essential, but live games need to progress to remain challenging. In doing so, they rely on new or existing IP to build out the story. Few franchises enjoy the wealth of IP that more than a hundred Star Wars games have had access to, with nearly 50 years of broad IP development to draw upon. But the example stands as a high-water mark for other franchises to emulate.

Beyond updates to the game itself, leading game companies find other ways for their customers to participate. Cocreation tops the list as it also keeps users deeply invested in the game. Other engagement opportunities abound, from online forums to cross-media entertainment such as shows or movies featuring gameplay or characters.

Getting to the next level

Game developers and publishers face these imperatives at a critical moment in the evolution of their industry, when game companies of all sizes are making concerted efforts to scale up and build more mature capabilities that can see them thrive in the next wave of growth. The market has grown quickly, faster than most companies have been able to keep pace with. More than in almost any other industry, many game companies have depended on passion for the product as much as professional management to deliver the goods. Now, as game companies face the prospect of competing more directly with big tech and big media players, they are rethinking their operating models to become more efficient and make the most of their intellectual property. (For more on this, read the chapter “Level Unlocked: How Video Game Companies Can Evolve Operating Models for Growth.”)

The authors would like to thank Nyla Brewster, Katie Chung, and Brandon Rogers for their contributions to this work.

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36 Gaming Reports

Study Period: 2019 - 2029

Regions Covered: North America, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Major Players: Sony Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc., Realnetworks LLC (Gamehouse) , Bandai Namco Holdings Inc

Countries Covered: India, Australia, South Korea, China

Major Players: Dream Sports, PlayUP Ltd, RealGM LLC, HalaPlay Technologies Pvt. Ltd, ESPN Inc.

Country Covered: United States

Major Players: Logitech International SA, Turtle Beach Corporation, Razer Inc., Corsair Components Inc., Mad Catz Global Limited

Major Players: Axie Infinity, Gods Unchained, CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, The Sandbox

Regions Covered: Europe, Asia Pacific

Major Players: Electronic Art Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Nintendo Co. Ltd, Oculus VR, Sony Corporation

Major Players: Activision Blizzard, Inc., Electronic Arts Inc.​, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.​, Zynga Inc., Microsoft Corporation

Countries Covered: United States, Canada, Canada

Major Players: Activision Blizzard Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., Zynga Inc. , Microsoft Corporation

Major Players: Activision Blizzard, Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., Ubisoft Entertainment SA, Nexon Co., Ltd., Tencent Holdings Limited

Regions Covered: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, Global

Major Players: Alienware (Dell), Logitech International SA, Razer Inc., Mad Catz Global Limited, Turtle Beach Corporation

Major Players: Amazon.com, Inc, Huya Inc, Wuhan Douyu Network Technology Co. Ltd, Facebook Gaming (Meta Platforms, Inc.), Youtube (Alphabet Inc.)

Major Players: Asiasoft Corporation Public Company Limited, IGG INC, Tencent Holdings Ltd, Netmarble Corporation, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Asia

Countries Covered: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand

Major Players: Sony, Asiasoft, IGG Inc., com2uS Corporation, Nintendo Co. Ltd

Major Players: BreakAway Games, Designing Digitally, Inc., Diginext (CS Group), MPS Interactive Systems, Serious Games Solutions

Regions Covered: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa

Major Players: Microsoft, Electronic Arts Inc., Gameloft, THQ Nordic, Aquiris Game Studio

Regions Covered: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific

Major Players: Designing Digitally, Inc., Diginext, CCS Digital Education Ltd., Applied Research Associate Inc., Grendel Games

Study Period: 2021 - 2029

Countries Covered: United States, Canada

Major Players: DraftKings Inc., FanDuel Group, Yahoo Fantasy Sports, CBS Sports, ESPN

Major Players: Emotiv Inc., iMotions A/S, Qneuro Inc., Ultraleap Ltd., NeuroSky Inc.

Country Covered: Central African Republic

Major Players: Kucheza, Kagiso Interactive, Nyamakop, Celestial Games, Kuluya

Countries Covered: Germany, France, Italy

Major Players: International Game Technology PLC, Novomatic AG, Apex Gaming Technology, Amatic Industries GmbH, Decart Ltd, Euro Games Technology Ltd., Ensico CMS d.o.o., Advansys d.o.o., Synectics plc., Dallmeier electronic GmbH & Co.KG, Konami Gaming, Inc., SAS Institute Inc.

Major Players: Mircosoft Coroporation, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, Relic Entertainment, Paradox Interactive AB, Amplitude Studios

Major Players: Modern Times Group, Activision Blizzard, Inc, Riot Games, Inc. ( Tencent Holdings Ltd), Epic Games, Inc., Gfinity, PLC

Major Players: Nvidia Corporation, Blacknut , Microsoft Corporation, Numecent Holdings Ltd, Parsec Cloud Inc. (Unity Software Inc.)

Major Players: Tencent Holdings Ltd., Activision Blizzard, Inc., Nintendo Co., Ltd, EA Sports, Epic Games, Inc

Countries Covered: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Kuwait

Major Players: Sony Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc., Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.), Electronic Arts Inc.

Regions Covered: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Asia Pacific

Major Players: Sony Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Nintendo Co. Ltd., Sega Enterprises Inc., Valve Corporation

Study Period: 2019-2029

Major Players: Sony Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Nintendo Co., Ltd., Logitech International S.A. , Turtle Beach Corporation​

Country Covered: India

Major Players: Sony Corporation, Nintendo, Microsoft , Rolocule Games Private Limited, Electronic Arts Inc.

Regions Covered: North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America

Major Players: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., Tencent, Nintendo, Microsoft, NetEase, Inc.

Regions Covered: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East

Major Players: Tencent, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Konami, Capcom, Ubisoft

Countries Covered: Brazil, Argentina, Chile

Major Players: KONAMI, Riot Games, Inc., Tapps games, Epic Games, Inc., Activision Publishing, Inc.

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Spotlight: continuous monetization through live service games

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Linn County casino: Vendors selected to complete market study on potential impacts

by Kaelei Whitlatch

RIVERSIDE, Iowa — The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission selected two vendors to complete market research studies on the economic impact a new casino in Cedar Rapids would bring to the state.

The commission selected Th e Innovation Group and Marquette Advisors on Thursday in Riverside to start studying those estimated effects with a due date in December.

Marquette Advisors completed the last market study for the Cedar Rapids casino in 2017 . That research played a role in the IRGC's second denial of a gaming license for Linn County.

Those who are rolling the dice again for a casino in the City of Five Seasons said the impacts, especially the millions made yearly for non-profits , would be immense.

"[Non-profits'] needs are great, their needs are growing. This is a great avenue for them to get funding for them to be able to serve the citizens of Linn County and execute on the projects that they dream about," Linn County Gaming Association President Anne Parmley said.

The casino's developer, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment , has been working to bring gaming to Cedar Rapids for more than a decade.

It said Cedar Crossing would bring in $80 million yearly to the state, and it hopes the research through the commission further proves it.

"We're looking at 1.1 million new tourists coming to Cedar Rapids and Linn County," P2E Vice President of Development Kim Pang said. "Cedar Rapids has gone through a lot of issues with the floods and the regrowth of downtown Cedar Rapids. We want to be part of that puzzle, you build it and they will come."

Now, developers are hopeful that the third try's a charm since the city is seeing more development since the pandemic and the derecho.

"Linn County is incredibly resilient, we've had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate that over the years, but we have a lot of needs," Parmley said. "I'm excited that this opportunity has got tremendous momentum and that we're moving forward."

Casino market study presentations will be in January. A final vote for a Linn County casino will be on Feb. 6.