The crisis did not prevent the gaming market from setting a revenue record in 2025 — analysis
The analytical company Newzoo has conclusively summarized the results of 2025 for the global video game market—prior to this, it had managed to release several forecasts. As it turns out, last year was the most lucrative in monetary terms in the history of their observations, despite numerous layoffs and studio closures.
Below are the key points from the report.
▫️According to Newzoo's calculations, in 2025, the market's revenue reached an all-time high of $201.6 billion. This is a 9.1% increase over 2024. Previously, in the most optimistic scenario, analysts expected to see "only" $196.7 billion.
▫️The largest segment remained mobile, with a revenue of $113.3 billion (+10.7%). Its income grew thanks to the success of Chinese mini-games and the development of direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales.
▫️The second place went to the console games segment—$44.7 billion (+2.8%). Of this amount, $19.9 billion (+8.1%) came from sales of paid games, $13.3 billion (-4.6%) from microtransactions, and $9.4 billion (+11.7%) from subscriptions.
▫️The revenue of the PC games segment amounted to $43.6 billion (+12%). As stated by Newzoo, never before have its growth rates been so high. Such results were achieved thanks to the release of a series of high-profile games like Battlefield 6, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Additionally, mid-priced games performed particularly well in 2025.
▫️Microtransactions remained the main source of revenue for PC games, contributing nearly half of the total—$20.3 billion (+9.1%).
▫️At the same time, the biggest growth on PC was shown by in-game subscriptions. Revenue from these increased by 42.1%, reaching $1.8 billion. Paid PC games also demonstrated a strong revenue jump—up 25.3% to $14.1 billion.
▫️52% of the global video game market's revenue came from two countries—China ($54.6 billion) and the USA ($50.8 billion).
▫️Newzoo forecasts that by the end of 2026, gamers worldwide will spend $213.9 billion on games. By 2028, this figure is expected to reach $234.4 billion.
App2Top — about gamedev before anyone else. Subscribe