Recent years have witnessed an impressive growth of the video games industry, both in terms of revenue and the number of users. However, the entire sector boomed since the beginning of 2020 as millions of people started spending more time indoors and online amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
According to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, global video game revenues jumped by 23% year-over-year and hit $135.8bn in 2020. The entire market is expected to grow by another 14% this year and hit a $154.6bn value.
Revenue in the video games segment, from 2017 to 2025 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Mobile Games to Generate 70% of Gaming Revenues this Year
The year 2020 hasn’t been a great year for most industries. Still, for video-game makers like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, 2020 brought new sales records as more people turned to console and mobile titles amid the lockdown.
Gaming industry revenues jumped by $25.6bn last year, the most significant annual increase so far, revealed the Statista survey. This figure is expected to grow by another $18.8bn in 2021. By 2025, the video games industry is set to reach $220.5bn value.
As the largest segment of the video games industry, mobile games have exploded amid the coronavirus outbreak. In 2020, gaming apps generated $95.1bn in revenue, 25% more than before the pandemic. This figure is forecast to jump by 15% YoY and hit $109.6bn in 2021. By 2025, the revenues of the global mobile games market are forecast to surge by 46% to $160.6bn.
As the second-largest market segment, online games are expected to hit a $23.6bn value in 2021, an 11% increase in a year. Download games and gaming networks follow, with $18.2bn and $3.1bn in revenue, respectively.
Chinese Gaming Industry Surged by 46% Amid Pandemic; US Gaming Revenues Jumped by 31%
The Statista survey shows the number of users in the mobile games segment is set to reach over 1.7 billion in 2021, almost a 30% increase in two years. Download games are expected to hit over 1.2 billion users this year, 195 million more than before the pandemic. Online games and gaming networks follow with 1.09 billion and 111.3 million users in 2021, respectively.
Analyzed by geography, China represents the world’s largest gaming market, expected to generate $49.3bn in revenue in 2021, or 46% more compared to pre-COVID-19 figures. Statistics indicate the entire gaming sector in the country is set to reach a $71.2bn value by 2025.
The US gaming revenues are forecast to reach $30.3bn in 2021, a 31% jump in two years. By 2025, this figure is set to rise to $42.5bn.
As the third-largest gaming market globally, Japan is forecast to generate $18.2bn in revenue this year. South Korea and the United Kingdom follow, with $6.15bn and $6.14bn, respectively.
