Discussion over the future of gaming can throw up some heated opinions, but one thing that seems certain is that it will continue to be an extremely lucrative industry. Technological developments and the opening up of new markets seem set to ensure steady growth well into the next decade, with the total global value predicted to exceed $200bn by 2023.
At the end of 2018, market analysts Newzoo put the value of the global games industry at just under $135bn. This included both boxed and digital games, but the vast majority of that revenue came from digital. More recently, digital games revenue was put at $109.8bn in 2018 according to Super Data, with 80% of all online games revenue coming from free-to-play games. The big sensation of the year, as no-one can have failed to notice, was Fortnite, which made a whopping $2.4bn in 2018. Super Data called this “the most annual revenue of any game in history”.
Free to play vs. premium
This figure certainly put Fortnite streets ahead of its nearest rivals. Dungeon Fighter Online made $1.5bn, followed by League of Legends ($1.4bn), and then Pokémon Go, Crossfire and Honor of War, all of which made $1.3bn each in 2018.
Free-to-play games made a total of $88bn with 62% of this coming from Asian countries. In contrast, the premium games sector made a total of $17.8bn, 80% of which came from North America and Europe. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds topped the premium chart, making $1.028bn, followed by FIFA 18 (790m) and Grand Theft Auto V (628m).
The casino sector
Looking at online casino games, it’s hard to make a comparison, but online gambling as a whole was said to be worth around $50bn in 2017. In the US, New Jersey’s online gambling sites had made over $1bn by the end of 2018 since they were established in 2013. In 2018 alone the state’s poker and casino platforms made over $300m, with 93% ($227m) coming from its online casino games. Many players were doubtless attracted by the NJ Casino Bonus Codes that are widely available.
On the move
Breaking down the market by device, the biggest sector is mobile gaming. This accounted for $63.2bn worth of revenue in 2018, again according to Newzoo’s end-of-year estimates. That’s 47% of the total income, and a 12.8% increase year-on-year. The majority of mobile gameplay was on smartphones, accounting for $50bn in revenue. Tablets however took $11.4bn, meaning that one in every ten dollars spent on gaming was on tablet-based games.
Perhaps surprisingly console gaming saw the biggest growth in revenue, up 15.2% to $38.3bn. The PC gaming market accounted for 25% of total global revenue, taking in $33.4bn. It should be noted that this includes boxed, download and browser games, and not just the online market.
Looking to the future, it seems that free-to-play is here to stay, although video game subscription services may see an increase in popularity. Casino gaming looks set to grow, especially in the US, as more states pass laws allowing the licensing of operators. Meanwhile mobile will surely remain the major platform of choice across all sectors, especially in the expanding Asian market.
I'm a published author and proud US Army veteran who happens to be a gamer, so I decided to combine the two and love every minute of it! Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments and I'll be sure to get back to you.
More Stories
SXSW London Announced
The New John Wick Pinball Games to Take Over Homes and Arcades Across the Globe
QuakeCon is Coming Back to Grapevine, Texas in August