Newzoo has released its new report that breaks down the overall state of the PC, console and mobile gaming industry in 2024. We have compiled the key details for you in this article.
Game revenue: is there a positive change? Of course, the reporting and fiscal year is still nearing its end and a lot can happen, but the forecast is generally comforting. Newzoo estimates that the global gaming industry will reach $187.7 billion in 2024, representing a 2.1% year-on-year growth. The PC games segment will show an increase of 4% to $43.2 billion, accounting for 23% of the market.
The mobile segment will also show a positive trend, increasing by 3% to $92.6 billion, representing 49% of the market. In contrast, the console games segment will shrink by 1%, reaching $51.9 billion and accounting for 28% of the total market.
Newzoo forecasts that the global gaming market revenue will reach $213.3 billion by 2027, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of 3.1% from 2022 to 2027. The PC segment is expected to continue to grow steadily, while the console market, having overcome the current decline, is expected to return to strong growth.
Shooters remain the leading genre on PC with a projected revenue of $7.4 billion in 2024, accounting for 17 per cent of the segment's total revenue and showing a 9.6 per cent year-on-year growth. Adventure games occupy the second position, generating 13% of the segment's revenue with $5.8 billion in revenue and an impressive 21.2% year-on-year growth. On consoles, the situation is almost the same, with shooters taking the leading position in terms of sales (16%).
What about gamers? In 2024, the number of players worldwide will reach 3.42 billion, an increase of 4.5 per cent year-on-year. The largest growth is expected in the PC segment, where the number of players will increase by 3.9% to reach 900 million. The mobile segment will also show significant growth of 3.5 per cent, increasing the number of players to 2.85 billion.
The console segment will show the smallest growth, adding 2.3% in terms of players. The main increase in players is due to the active development of gaming markets in developing countries. Newzoo predicts that by 2027 the number of players in the world will grow to 3.759 billion.
Key trends for 2024
Cross-platform.
Scaling down projects to reduce development costs.
Opening up the mobile ecosystem.
The future of F2P games on PC and consoles is dim.
Almost all of the popular AAA games of recent years are based on established gaming IPs, or large franchises.
Gen-AI continues to creep deeper and deeper into development.