Study: The Gaming Market Will No Longer Grow at Double-Digit Rates
The gaming market won't return to the revenue growth rates seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research company MIDiA Research. The company believes the "era of double-digit growth" is over.
GTA VI
Specifically, MIDiA Research predicts that in 2025, the global gaming market revenue will grow by 4.6% compared to 2024, reaching $236.9 billion.
The majority of gaming revenue in 2025 will come from video game sales themselves—$203.2 billion. Following that will be gaming hardware ($20.6 billion) and subscriptions ($13.1 billion).
MIDiA Research also estimated that by 2031, the global gaming market revenue will grow to $280.1 billion.
"‘Survive till 2025’—this mantra was often heard in the gaming industry. Many hoped that the release of Nintendo Switch 2 and GTA VI would revitalize the market and spur the growth seen in 2021 and 2022. Make no mistake: they will help increase market revenue, but Nintendo and Take-Two will be the primary winners. While Nintendo Switch 2 will become a haven for third-party developers, GTA VI will grab all the attention and negatively impact other games," stated MIDiA Research analyst Rhys Elliott.
Elliott added that during the pandemic, many gaming companies greenlit risky projects, believing the analysts' optimistic forecasts—and lost. As a result, some games were canceled during development, and some, like Concord, were shut down shortly after release. The situation was especially grim in the games-as-a-service segment, in which new projects found it extremely difficult to break through.
Elliott is convinced that the gaming market has reached a phase of maturity and will only show rapid growth if another "black swan" event like the pandemic occurs. The analyst advises developers to cut costs, avoid chasing trends, experiment more, and conduct research when choosing a segment.