Global Gaming Revenue To Hit $109 Billion in 2017
The global games industry continues to grow. Highlighting this growth, games industry intelligence firm Newzoo has released new estimates on how they think the market will continue to evolve in 2017. The topline figure is expected to increase from $101.1 billion in 2016 to $108.9 this year, a 7.7% increase. That huge figure includes revenue from all platforms: Mobile, PC, and Console.
A breakdown of those figures: (Brackets indicate growth rate compared to 2016)
- Mobile - $46.1 Billion (+19.3%)
- PC - $29.4 Billion (-2.6%)
- Console - $33.5 Billion (+3.6%)
The two standout trends for 2017 are the massive growth in mobile gaming, expected to grow nearly 20% this year, and the small decline (2.5%) in PC gaming revenues. PC browser games will be particularly hard hit, with expected revenues to decrease 9.3%
Consoles continue to evolve and grow. The continued release of free to play MMORPGs like Skyforge and Neverwinter has helped consoles bring in more digital revenue to make up for declining retail box sales. Regional trends also play a massive role in the shifting fortunes of the gaming industry. As the Newzoo report states:
“China alone will take one quarter of all global game revenues, reaching $27.5 billion this year, well ahead of the U.S. which is estimated to reach $25.1 billion.”
If Newzoo's estimates prove to be accurate, we may start to hear the old "PC gaming is dead" adage of the 1990s once again.
Further Reading: Newzoo Full Report
