According to Newzoo, the global games market is projected to reach $213.9 billion in 2026, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 6.1%
The global games industry is anticipated to witness a 6.1% increase, amounting to $213.9 billion. A significant portion of this revenue is expected to come from China and the US, as indicated by Newzoo's analysis. Insights from the firm's Global Games Market Report, expected for release on September 10, offers these projections.
Sales from consoles are expected to constitute 22% of the market, achieving $46.9 billion, marking a 5.1% uptick. The upcoming November debut of Grand Theft Auto 6 is predicted to boost full-game expenditures by 17.5%, marking it as having the most substantial growth across various business strategies.
Mobile gaming is poised to dominate with 57% of the platform share, projected to reach $121.1 billion—a 6.8% rise from the previous year, spurred by increased spending by players and the expansion of direct-to-consumer (D2C) systems.
A study conducted by FastSpring and Omdia reveals that 96% of game development studios have adopted or plan to adopt a D2C web store. The driving factors include better brand awareness, enhanced loyalty among users, and improved access to proprietary customer data and insights.
The PC segment is forecast to capture the smallest share at 21%, reaching $45.9 billion. Newzoo anticipates a 5.3% annual growth for the platform, a decrease from its estimated 12% annual compound growth rate (CAGR) for 2025.
The gaming industry’s revenue from full games is likely to be sustained by premium and mid-range titles, while microtransactions are projected to continue as the leading business model. Geographically diverse growth is expected for PCs, with significant contributions from Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa regions.
Player growth is projected to decelerate from 4.4% annually up to 2026, to a 3.2% CAGR by 2029, when the global gaming population is expected to reach 4.07 billion. Newzoo emphasizes that future growth will increasingly rely on retaining and monetizing existing players rather than attracting new ones.
Economic expansion in gaming is largely concentrated in developing regions, with Asia-Pacific leading in size and the Middle East and Africa exhibiting rapid growth.
Estimates show that mobile gamers will number about 3.10 billion by 2026, accounting for 84% of the total gaming population. PC gamers are forecast to reach 977 million (26%), and console gamers are expected to number 651 million (18%).
According to Newzoo, player penetration is anticipated to ascend slightly from 61.5% to 62% by 2026, with growth being attributed to a 3.5% increase in the online population, reaching 5.97 billion, rather than through greater market penetration.
