Mobile will continue to dominate the global gaming landscape, a fresh forecast from gaming intelligence specialist Newzoo estimates. The total revenues of the industry will continue to grow until the end of the year, with mobile responsible for the majority of the industry’s revenues. But consoles will be responsible for the majority of the growth.
Mobile continues to dominate
The gaming industry’s revenues have been growing for years – 2023 will be no exception. Newzoo expects the total revenues generated by gaming to reach $187.7 billion this year, showing a slow growth of under 3%. Almost all segments followed by the company show growth, with one notable exception: browser games played on PC. Their revenues continue to decrease year after year.
Mobile games, in turn, have once again proven their resilience: they have generated the lion’s share of the industry’s income. With $92.6 billion in revenues, mobile is responsible for 49% of the entire industry’s income.
Apparently, in turn, the industry is reaching a plateau: compared to last year, its growth won’t reach 1% this year, according to Newzoo.
Console games have grown the most
Console games are responsible for 30% of the industry’s revenues this year, or up to $56.1 billion. Compared to 2022, console revenues will grow the most – up to 7.4%. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, considering the hits that were released this year – just think of the new Zelda game, Diablo IV, and Hogwarts: Legacy, and upcoming titles like Super Mario RPG and Modern Warfare 3, among others.
PC gaming is pretty stable, growing by 1.6% year-on-year, and responsible for 20% of the industry’s revenues this year.
The games we don’t talk about
The iGaming industry is not part of Newzoo’s statistics but still deserves a mention because of its fast growth and massive revenues. According to industry estimates, it will amass revenues of up to $88.7 billion this year, almost 10% more than last. As new markets open up for online gambling, the number of players continues to grow, and with it, the revenues of the industry. This upward curve that received a boost during the pandemic will continue its upward trend as the most popular types of casino games reach an ever-growing number of players.
Here, too, mobile is the dominant platform, with
Who spends the most on games?
The US and China are the countries with the largest contribution to the gaming industry’s total revenue, together responsible for almost half of the total. Overall, gamers in the Asia-Pacific region spent most on games, generating 46% of the total, followed by North Americans with 27%. European gamers will have spent almost $35 billion on games by the end of 2023. South America, along with the Middle East and Africa, will be responsible for the remaining almost 10% of the total.
Overall, even if its growth has slowed, mobile continues to dominate the gaming industry. In iGaming, it has long ago become the most-used platform in the iGaming industry. Mobile games continue to generate considerable revenues, but they have plateaued, with consoles retaking the lead in growth thanks to the major hits released throughout the year.