Newzoo: Worldwide gaming industry surpasses $200 billion mark in 2025

According to data compiled by Newzoo, the video game industry generated revenues surpassing $200 billion for the first time in 2025, reaching a total of $201.6 billion—a 9.1% increase from the previous year.

Mobile gaming led the charge, accounting for 56% of this revenue, or $113.3 billion. This surge was fueled by consumer spending, a rise in mini-games within China, and income from Tencent. Despite exceeding predictions, mobile downloads decreased, indicating that the growth stemmed more from enhanced monetization strategies than from an increase in users.

PC and console gaming each represented 22% of the market. PC gaming alone accounted for $43.6 billion, showing a 12% annual rise—its strongest to date according to Newzoo. Success was attributed to popular titles like Battlefield 6, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Clair Obscur: expedition 33.

In the PC segment, microtransactions grew by 9.1% from the previous year, comprising 47% of all revenue. This increase is partly due to the renewed interest in Counter-Strike 2 and Roblox. Premium game spending contributed 32% of PC revenue, totaling $14.1 billion—a 25.3% year-on-year increase.

Console revenue was reported at $44.7 billion, marking a modest 2.8% increase. Newzoo described the growth as restrained due in part to "softer" live-service income and underperformance from Nintendo's offerings. Declines in DLC and microtransactions were counterbalanced by spending on full games and subscriptions.

Revenue from downloadable content fell by 23.4% to $2.1 billion, while in-game expenditure dropped 4.6% to $13.3 billion.

China emerged as the top market for gaming, bringing in $54.6 billion, followed by the United States with $50.8 billion. Together, these countries accounted for more than half of the global gaming expenditure in 2025.

The Asia Pacific region saw a 9.9% increase in gaming revenues, with Europe experiencing a 10.7% rise. However, North America's growth was slower at 5.7%, significantly below the global average. Meanwhile, the Middle East and Africa reported a 15% rise, and Latin America showed a growth of 9.6%.

Newzoo projects that by 2028, the global games market will reach $234.4 billion in revenue, indicating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1%.