Gaming Market Size: Growth Resumes as Mobile Leads and M&A Reshapes the Field
After a post‑pandemic reset, the global games market is back on a growth track, led by mobile and buoyed by resilient console spending. Investors are watching platform mix, regional momentum, and consolidation as the industry homes in on $200B in annual revenues.
A turning point for global gaming spend
In the Gaming sector, After two choppy years marked by normalization from pandemic highs and tighter consumer wallets, the games industry has regained forward momentum. Global games revenue is projected to be roughly in the high-$180 billions in 2024, with the sector on course to clear the $200 billion mark by the middle of the decade, according to recent research from Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report. The firm’s latest outlook points to low-to-mid single-digit annual growth through 2027 as player engagement stabilizes and content pipelines improve.
The reset has been uneven across platforms, but the recovery is broadening. While unit sales of premium titles remain hit-driven, recurring monetization via live-service games, battle passes, and in-game cosmetic economies continues to underpin revenue resilience. Industry reports show that the installed bases built during the last hardware cycle are still monetizing well, even as market participants prepare for platform refreshes and a more measured cadence of AAA releases.
Platform mix: mobile’s dominance, console’s resilience
Mobile remains the industry’s gravitational center by spend and scale, buoyed by billions of devices and a mature free-to-play model. Data from analysts at data.ai’s State of Mobile Gaming 2024 indicates that mobile game consumer outlays have reaccelerated alongside improvements in user acquisition efficiency and genre innovation, following a dip tied to privacy changes and macro softness. That momentum supports a platform mix in which mobile typically commands roughly half of global revenue, with console and PC dividing the remainder.
Console and PC are holding their ground thanks to tentpole franchises, robust back catalogs, and the rise of subscription libraries. Platform owners are deepening ecosystems through services such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, while publishers lean into live operations to extend lifetime value. Although subscriptions remain a modest slice of overall software spend, PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook suggests steady, sustainable growth for packaged and digital games as service models and hybrid monetization mature, according to industry reports.