The video game industry in the mirror of statistics

"It is no longer just chip-eating young gamers." This sentence is from Tom Wainwright, the Economist's technology and media editor. His intent with this sentence was to state the fact that now the number of 35-44-year-olds who have a game console is greater than that of 16-24-year-olds.

But beyond the status of users and video game players that was spoken of, the Statista report has taken a comprehensive and all-around look at the video game industry in 2023 and narrates valuable data such as video game market revenue, the value of the largest game companies, top video game producers, the most popular game consoles, the type of future games, and so on. On this basis, in this note we take a look at the prominent and important points of Statista's report on the video game industry in the world.

Video game industry revenue on a path of rise, without a dip

The trend of video game industry revenue from 2017 has increased continuously and regularly, and this figure in 2023 has reached 490 billion dollars. It is forecast that global revenue of the games segment of the media market from 2023 to 2027 will increase 40 percent (equivalent to 197 billion dollars) and reach 688 billion dollars. Overall and on the basis of the available data, it can be said that video game industry revenue is growing without a decline. A look at the market situation in the period of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns also indicates a considerable growth in video game revenue.

Video game downloads overtaking physical sales

In 2019, for the first time, game-download revenue (15 billion dollars) overtook physical sales of it (14 billion dollars), and after that this trend has continued to today. Except for 2022, when overall game-sales revenue (download and physical) was accompanied by a decline, game-download revenue has always been upward, and this is while this trend for physical game sales has not had stability and has experienced decrease and increase in different years. Nevertheless, it is forecast that overall game-sales revenue will reach 36.8 billion dollars by 2027, of which game downloads, at 25.4 billion dollars, are in the lead, and the physical version, at 11.4 billion dollars, has less than half the download revenue.

The astonishing growth of mobile game revenue, with a dash of overtaking consoles and computer games

Mobile games in 2011 had only 8.6 billion dollars in revenue, and this figure by the end of 2022 has reached 122.6 billion dollars. Mobile games have now accounted for a considerable share of the game industry market and have pulled far ahead of computer games with 42.9 billion dollars in revenue and game consoles with 37.9 billion dollars in revenue. While according to forecasts, through 2027 computer game revenue will decline relative to today and game consoles will also not have striking growth, mobile game revenue will reach 155.4 billion dollars and will continue to grow. A look at geographic regions that are susceptible and favorable for the use of mobile games shows that the continent of Asia is the main host of these games and has the highest revenue.

The world's leading game companies

Activision Blizzard, with 67 billion dollars, is the most valuable game company through April 2023. Nintendo, with 47.8 billion dollars, stands in second place, and Electronic Arts, with 65 billion dollars, is in third rank. Of course it is necessary to mention that in this list the data of Sony, Tencent and Microsoft have not been included, and this list is with the exception of these three companies.

The highest-earning game companies in 2023

Tencent, whose main office is in the city of Shenzhen, China, with 7.56 billion dollars, has been able to obtain the title of the highest-earning game company worldwide in the first quarter of 2023. Sony, Tencent's Japanese rival, with 4.38 billion dollars, stands in second place, and Apple, with 3.68 billion dollars, is in third rank among the highest-earning game companies in 2023. A noteworthy point in this list is the prominent and powerful presence of East Asian countries, which have been able to secure an important place for themselves in the video game industry.

Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo: the giant-making triangle

The three large companies Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo in 2022 accounted for 29 percent of the global game market share. Sony, with 13 percent, has the largest share, and after it, respectively, Microsoft with 8 percent and Nintendo with 7 percent stand.

PlayStation 2: the best-selling game console to date

PlayStation 2, or PS2, of video game players, is still the best-selling game console to date. This popular Sony product, which was first released in 2000, had sold more than 158 million units through May 2023.

PlayStation 2 feels the breath of the Nintendo DS, with more than 154 million units sold, behind it. This is while the Xbox 360, with more than 85 million units, stands in ninth place and is the only representative of the Xbox company among the 10 best-selling consoles in history.

Evidence shows that the changes and transformations of the video game world have made it difficult to reach the console sales of the first decade of the second millennium, and the absence of consoles such as PlayStation 5 reinforces this hypothesis.

Computer games: the platform with the most games for users through 2024

It is expected that from late 2022 through 2024, 200 new video games will be produced, unveiled and made available to players. An examination of these games by platform shows that 156 games are for (personal) computer, and this will probably affect the popularity of this platform. It has also been scheduled that 115 games will be released for PlayStation 5 and 113 games for Xbox Series X/S.

Video game developers' lack of interest in using blockchain technology

According to a survey of video game development studios at the Game Developers Conference (2023), 75 percent of game developers worldwide have had no interest in using blockchain technologies such as cryptocurrency, NFTs and so on. Also, only 2 percent of respondents have said that they use these tools in their studios to support their games.

Paying money: developers' most popular model for business

The game world is changing rapidly, and game developers, to succeed, must keep pace with the latest trends and adapt to conditions. In this regard, in a survey in 2023, 50 percent of game developers said that in the game they are developing they use a user-payment model in their business. This is while free-to-play still has its own particular fans, and 36 percent have chosen it.

PlayStation Plus: the most popular game subscription service

Game subscription services and cloud games have gained much popularity in recent years. PlayStation Plus, with more than 47 million subscribers worldwide, is the most popular game subscription service in 2023. Nintendo Switch Online, with 36 million subscribers, stands in second place, and third rank, with 25 million subscribers, has gone to Xbox Game Pass.

Growth of cloud game revenue

Cloud gaming is a type of streaming video game that allows players to play games on their devices through an internet connection without the need for dedicated game hardware and without dependence on location. Cloud games are a growing field in the video game industry, and their global revenue by the end of 2023 reaches 4.34 billion dollars. It has been forecast that the global cloud games market will reach 18.71 billion dollars by 2027 and experience considerable growth.

Closing remarks

The video game industry in recent years has been continually growing, and the forecast of its future trend also indicates the continuation of this path. According to the present report, game industry revenue in 2023 has reached 490 billion dollars, and this figure will reach 688 billion dollars by 2027. In 2022 overall game-sales revenue (download and physical) was accompanied by a decline; nevertheless, it is forecast that game-sales revenue will reach 36.8 billion dollars by 2027 and the gap of downloads from physical sales will grow.

Mobile games now, with 122.6 billion dollars in revenue, have accounted for a considerable share of the game industry and have higher revenue than consoles and computer games. Activision Blizzard, with 67 billion dollars, is the most valuable game company through April 2023. Tencent, Sony and Apple, respectively with 7.5, 4.3 and 3.6 billion dollars, have also had the highest revenue from game sales. Half of game developers have said that in the game they are developing they use a user-payment model in their business. This is while only 2 percent of game developers use blockchain technologies and 75 percent have no interest in using them.