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[Africa's Toto]

Top Video Game Industry Statistics for 2024 | Fortunly

Games are overtaking the world of entertainment, and the video game industry statistics indicate that the rise of the virtual empire has only just begun.

fortunly.com

I didn't validate anywhere near an adequate number of the sources they cite, (not like I imagined I would when I started) so keep the usual skepticism up; but a few points seemed interesting to me and appear to follow industry trends. Sources are in parentheses if you want to check up on anything odd.

Key Statistics on Video Gaming Industry - Editor’s Choice
- More than 57% of all game developers reside in the US.
- Revenue from Free to Play games amounts to over 85% of all game revenue.
- Global Esports industry is growing at the rate of 30% year-over-year.
- There are over 2.2 billion mobile gamers.
- Over 66% of console gamers prefer physical discs to digital download games.

General Video Gaming Industry Statistics
The video game industry is constantly evolving and inspiring innovation. From simple one-time purchases and single player experiences to full-priced and free-to-play games, the gaming industry has been completely reshaped throughout the last decade.

The latest video game industry statistics show that almost 50% of developers believe that the entire industry should unionize.
(Game Developers Conference)

The video gaming market is dominated by Valve’s Steam platform and over 47% of game publishers sell their products on its storefront.
(Game Developers Conference)

According to the most recent video games sales statistics from ESA, almost 50% of gamers have made a microtransaction in the past year.
(The Entertainment Software Association)

Youtube videos are the most influential factor on game purchase decisions followed by user reviews from communities or digital storefronts.
(The Entertainment Software Association)

Video game industry analysis from 2019 showed that over 57% of all game developers reside in the US.
(Game Developers Conference)

Some 67% of video game executives believe that the number of mergers and acquisitions within the industry will increase.
(EY)

23% of executives say that the use of blockchain technology will make the video game market more secure.
(EY)

More than 85% of total video industry revenue comes from free-to-play games.
(Clairfield International)

According to new gaming industry statistics from Copia Institute, Twitch is responsible for 31% of revenue from all gaming video content.
(Copia Institute)

Steam statistics show that the platform now has well over 30,000 games in its library, dominating the video gaming market share.
(PC Gamer)

Esports Statistics
To most people, the idea of a career in gaming has long sounded like nothing more than a childish fantasy. However, a growing number of gamers are turning virtual fun into fortunes.

Some of the most successful ones have even acquired celebrity status, especially in Asia. Video game popularity has soared to unprecedented heights and major Esports events are drawing far larger audiences than NBA finals and other big sports events, while the money from sponsors and advertising keeps rolling in.

Professional Dota 2 player N0tail is the top prize-winning Esports talent with $6.89 million amassed throughout his career.
(Esports Earnings)

The global Esports industry is growing at a rate of 30% year-over-year.
(PR Newswire)

Data from online gaming statistics indicates that gamers will gamble $23.5 billion on Esports in 2020.
(University Professional and Continuing Education Association)

Dota 2 holds the record for the highest prize pool in Esports history, with $34.3 million awarded to players competing at the International 9 in 2019.
(Esports Earnings)

Statistics on video games show that the Esports audience grew to 453.8 million in 2019, representing a 15% year-on-year growth.
(Newzoo)

PC Gaming Statistics
PCs are jokingly referred to as the “master race”. The term refers to the supposed superiority of the PC platform in the world of gaming. And although nothing can match PCs in pure power, consoles have steadily and slowly eroded the dominance of this once undisputed force.

The PC gaming market is set to be worth $45.5 billion in 2021.
(Statista)

Statistics on gaming on PCs tell us that some 48% of all owners use the device to play video games.
(GlobalWebIndex)

The free-to-play PC game market revenue worldwide rose to $21.3 billion in 2019.
(Clairfield International)

Razer leads the industry with 12.83% of the total PC gaming market share for peripherals.
(MarketWatch)

Some 66% of all game studios are currently creating games for the PC platform.
(Game Developers Conference)

VR/AR Industry Statistics
Virtual and augmented reality are gaming’s next frontier. The level of immersion and the pure sense of awe can’t be matched by any other gaming platform.

That’s why many believe that these systems are certain to depose all others in the near future.

According to the latest virtual reality statistics, North America leads the world with an 8% VR adoption rate.
(GlobalWebIndex)

The global VR gaming and entertainment market size is exhibiting a 40.1% compound annual growth rate.
(Fortune Business Insights)

70% of industry experts said they anticipate the AR market to surpass the VR market in revenue.
(Perkins Coie, XR Association)

VR statistics indicate that shipments of PC and all-in-one virtual reality headsets are projected to reach 62 million units by 2025.
(L.E.K. Consulting)

79% of Americans who experienced AR used it to play video games.
(Newzoo)

Mobile Video Game Statistics
The way mobile games exploded onto the scene is unlike anything we’ve seen so far. Smartphones are now so powerful and universally used that mobile gaming is becoming the central focus of the biggest AAA gaming companies.

The mobile game industry is growing at a year-on-year rate of 25.5%.
(Hybridan)

Mobile games reached a 60% market share in gaming consumer spending in 2019.
(Liftoff)

Some 50% of all mobile users open at least one gaming app during the week.
(Liftoff)

Gaming facts from 2020 show that there are more than 2.2 billion mobile gamers worldwide.
(Plinq)

The App Store generated $14.6 billion from mobile video game sales in Q1 2019.
(Plinq)

Console Video Game Statistics
In the past two decades, the video gaming console market has been defined by an ongoing power struggle between three major companies: Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.

From one generation of hardware to another, these giants battled for every single percentage point of the video game market share. But it has never been less obvious who the frontrunner is.

This is due to the shift in focus towards paid subscription models similar to Netflix rather than on pure console sales.

According to the newest data on video game trends, two thirds of console gamers prefer the physical game format to digital.
(Nielsen Holdings)

Sony’s Playstation leads the console sales of the 8th generation, selling 2.5 times as many consoles as Microsoft’s Xbox.
(Emirates NBD)

Console video game industry market statistics are pointing to a 13.4% revenue growth year-on-year.
(Mobvista)

Nearly a quarter of the game developers selling their products on Switch said they saw better sales compared to other platforms.
(Game Developers Conference)

Video game industry growth is increasingly dependent on the paid subscription model with more than 36.4 million monthly Playstation Plus subscribers.
(Sony)

 

[Africa's Toto]

Some more key figures, this time from Statista and apparently focusing on the US

Topic: Video game industry

Find the latest statistics and facts about video games. Action, sports and shooter games are the most popular in the U.S., and video games generally enjoy stable sales figures.

www.statista.com

MARKET LEADERS
Nintendo - the most recognized gaming brand in the U.S. in 2016
65%

Nintendo's Switch revenue in 2021
1666bn JPY

Microsoft's revenue in FY2021
168bn USD

HARDWARE AND OWNERSHIP
PlayStation 4 owned by most U.S. gamers in 2016
51%

Xbox One the second most popular console in the U.S. in 2016
40%

Consumers spent more than 250 USD on gaming hardware in the U.S. in 2016
26%

SOFTWARE
Physical video game sales in the U.S. in 2015
5.3bn USD

Action genre sells most video games in the U.S. in 2018
26.9%

Wii Sports all-time highest-selling console game worldwide
82.65mn units

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Video gaming reach among consumers in the U.S. in 2015
49%

Daily time spent per capita with a game console in the U.S.
14 mins

Consumers who own between 11 and 20 paid PC games
9%

 

[Africa's Toto]

Youtube videos are the most influential factor on game purchase decisions followed by user reviews from communities or digital storefronts

I wonder what reviewers would say about this.
It seems like average view counts for those have been dropping for a while

Although, I guess reviews take up a relatively small share of gaming videos, in the grand scheme of things

 

[Vaelka]

'' - Revenue from Free to Play games amounts to over 85% of all game revenue. ''

Pain.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[CitizenZ]

PC Gaming Statistics
PCs are jokingly referred to as the “master race”. The term refers to the supposed superiority of the PC platform in the world of gaming. And although nothing can match PCs in pure power, consoles have steadily and slowly eroded the dominance of this once undisputed force.

I was simply skimming and as soon as I saw this, I knew the article or w/e or is trying to say means nothing.

 

[Vaelka]

'' - More than 57% of all game developers reside in the US. ''

Imo this is kinda frustrating because it makes for less diverse and varied games.
It's the same with movies too, just because a movie or a game is made by a US company doesn't mean that the people working on it are/ all are American.

There's so much talent that could be given the free reign to create more unique experiences that aren't '' Merican ''.
Same with how movies in other countries are so different, and non-American actors have to do American accents and play Americans and whenever they don't they usually have to put on fake accents that aren't even their native accents ( usually German or Russian ).

There's so much politicized and toxic bs culture too surrounding US media and culture in recent years, I'd like to see some de-centralization and less gobbling up of the industry ( especially since the companies are basically all based in a handful of cities in the US ).
Like it's kinda sad that you have to turn to the East to get something different, and even then they still often try to pander to the same thing.

 

[Topher]

"The latest video game industry statistics show that almost 50% of developers believe that the entire industry should unionize."

That one is funny. Here it is rewritten and just as accurate:

"The latest video game industry statistics show that MOST developers DO NOT believe that the entire industry should unionize."

Good example of how people can use statistics and push whatever narrative they want to push.

 

[M1chl]

Revenue from Free to Play games amounts to over 85% of all game revenue.

 

[reksveks]

"The latest video game industry statistics show that almost 50% of developers believe that the entire industry should unionize."

That one is funny. Here it is rewritten and just as accurate:

"The latest video game industry statistics show that MOST developers DO NOT believe that the entire industry should unionize."

Good example of how people can use statistics and push whatever narrative they want to push.

That kinda depends on the question and if it was a binary choice, I might try and find it.

Edit no. 1: I haven't yet found it but just for context that result seems to be from 3 years ago, and two years ago. 54% supported unions in the industry.

GDC survey shows growing support for unionising

GDC's yearly survey of developers shows 54% believe the industry should unionise, up from last year.

www.rockpapershotgun.com

 

[Topher]

That kinda depends on the question and if it was a binary choice, I might try and find it.

Good point. These conclusions are derived from actual questions and without knowing what was actually being asked then we are simply taking the conclusion made at face value. But when you have a guy spouting a bunch of conclusions and referencing the source of the data without actual linking to the sites providing the data then I have some serious doubts about how much good information we really have from this.

 

[reksveks]

Good point. These conclusions are derived from actual questions and without knowing what was actually being asked then we are simply taking the conclusion made at face value. But when you have a guy spouting a bunch of conclusions and referencing the source of the data without actual linking to the sites providing the data then I have some serious doubts about how much good information we really have from this.

I think it must be behind a paywall but I think it isn't a binary question just based off the following.

According to GDC’s latest annual survey, which includes responses from close to 4,000 developers, nearly half — 47 percent — of those who were polled support unionization, with only 16 percent saying they’re against the idea.

Many game developers support unionization, but few think it’ll happen

The results from GDC’s annual survey are in

www.theverge.com

There is a lot of interesting conversations to be had about how questions get asked but not sure I am smart enough for it.

 

[Topher]

I think it must be behind a paywall but I think it isn't a binary question just based off the following.

According to GDC’s latest annual survey, which includes responses from close to 4,000 developers, nearly half — 47 percent — of those who were polled support unionization, with only 16 percent saying they’re against the idea.

Many game developers support unionization, but few think it’ll happen

The results from GDC’s annual survey are in

www.theverge.com

There is a lot of interesting conversations to be had about how questions get asked but not sure I am smart enough for it.

Links to other sites behind a paywall? That would be strange.

I'm just suspicious of surveys is all.

 

[reksveks]

Links to other sites behind a paywall? That would be strange.

I'm just suspicious of surveys is all.

My bad, I meant the GDC survey.

 

[MayauMiao]

Youtube videos are the most influential factor on game purchase decisions followed by user reviews from communities or digital storefronts

No wonder yellow journalism that is Kotaku writers are never invited for beta testing.

 

[BadBurger]

So basically mobile games are dominant when it comes to revenue? Am I reading this right?