There are close to 2.7 billion gamers across the world, and the gaming industry is estimated to make close to $159.3 billion in revenues this year, and by 2023 the industry will exceed the $200 billion mark. As a matter of fact, the gaming industry is all set to take the first spot in terms of revenue, surpassing the music and movie industry.
One of the biggest reasons for this surge in gaming is that people are spending more time indoors due to the global pandemic, and we all need something to keep ourselves busy and entertained to get through it. This is where traditional games like rummy ludo comes to our rescue as a stress buster!
Consumer Spending on Mobile Games Set to Rise
This year games across all segments are witnessing a massive expansion in terms of participation and overall revenues, with mobile gaming topping the charts ahead of PC and console games. This is evident in the fact that mobile games are set to make close to $77.2 billion in 2020.
The growth is a direct result of four primary driving factors:
- Almost one-fifth of the population of the world has access to mobile phones.
- Since half the world is in a state of lockdown, a higher number of people have turned to mobile gaming as most other avenues of entertainment are either closed or have nothing new to offer.
- Mobile games take comparatively less time to develop and provide, and the pandemic has had little to no impact on the life cycle of new games set to hit the market.
- There has been a rise in the number of customers who are ready to pay a premium for good quality games.
Moreover, the rise in the number of players in both casual and the skill gaming categories has been a motivating factor for developers such as Gametion Technologies Pvt. Ltd, the developer of Ludo King, and Junglee Games, the developer of Junglee Rummy App. Both these games have seen a massive surge in the number of new registrations.
PC and Console Gaming to Witness Steady Growth
Even though the pandemic has been a hurdle for both PC and console gaming due to the massive physical distribution and collaboration required among developers, resulting in projects getting delayed, the industry is still expected to grow at a healthy rate of 6.8% and clock $45.2 billion in the year.
However, to maintain this healthy growth rate, developers might need to cut down on some features or downscale games to stick to their release dates. The Last of Us II and The Ghost of Tsushima have witnessed production delays in the times of the pandemic due to many complexities and distribution issues.
Due to these issues, the growth rate has slowed down for the console market; however, that’s not to say that all is lost. Both Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X are all set to hit the market by the end of this year. So the slowdown in some console games could be a result of gamers holding on to their spending as they wait for new consoles to release.
As for PC gaming, it’s set to grow at a rate of 4.8% with its 1.3 billion users and is expected to make at least $ 36.9 billion in 2020. And since PC gaming has already moved to a digital distribution system from a physical distribution system, the distribution of games is not a big issue.
Future Outlook for the Global Gaming Market
The gaming market is expected to grow to $200 billion by 2023, with an annual growth rate at a rate of 8%. Moreover, with newer generation consoles coming out by the end of the year, game revenues are likely to see a good rise. However, the overall growth rate is not going to be in the double digits until a few years from now. But when it comes to mobile games, the segment will continue to be the leader in acquiring new players and recording growth in terms of revenue.