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Gaming Statistics – 2023

Author: Branka

With a worth of around $300 billion, the gaming industry is on a winning streak. The biggest share of this is mainly due to the advent of mobile games and, lately, the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from the sheer industry size, its effects are helping shape up entertainment and culture. So, if you want to work in the industry or are simply passionate about games, check out these gaming statistics. They might help you define your next steps or learn more about this exciting field.

Gaming Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

Approximately 3 billion people worldwide play video games. ( Marketer )

83% of video game sales happen in the digital world. ( Global X ETFs ) In 2021, the consumer spending in the video gaming sector was $60.4billion in the US. ( PR Newswire, Newzoo ) Around 85% of all gaming revenue comes from free-to-play games. ( WePC , TweakTown ) There were around 14.1 billion mobile game downloads in the Q1 of 2021. ( Statista ) By 2025, the PC gaming sector alone will accumulate $46.7 billion. ( Statista ) People between 18 and 34 comprise 38% of gamers globally. ( Statista )

General Statistics on Gaming

1. About 3 billion people worldwide play video games.

Whether building an empire or catching Pokemons, many of us have downloaded or played some video games in our lifetime. As the data from 2021 shows, the number of games in the world was estimated at 2.96 billion. In addition to that, it’s estimated that the number of those who play games via PC, consoles, tablets, and smartphones will surpass 3 billion this year and amount to 3.32 billion by 2024.

(Marketer, Newzoo)

2. Six in 10 gamers played online multiplayer games more frequently during the pandemic. According to gaming statistics during Covid, the share of new gamers multiplied quickly. For example, in Europe, the Covid lockdown sparked a feeling that gaming could replace some social activities. As a result, many gamers felt happier and less isolated. Because of this, indie titles such as Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout and Among Us became extremely popular. Similarly, a platform for digital gaming, Roblox, attracted many young gamers craving a spot for digital hangout.

(Statista)

3. Online gaming audiences will surpass 1.3 billion people by 2025.

This would mark a surge from around one billion currently. China, Japan, and South Korea are leaders in this category, with the highest segment of gamers out of the entire population. Despite the recent trends of growth of online gaming, statistics confirm it was there all along, evolving over the course of years. From PC and consoles, we came to the intersection where MMOs are taking over. MMO stands for massively multiplayer online games, and its boom has been happening since the 2010s. Right about that time, large multiplayer online battle arena games, like Dota2, LoL reached high levels of popularity.

(Statista)

4. There are over 50,000 games available on Steam.

When it started, the platform allowed developers to publish their games on the website for a certain fee and a profit share. Although useful for bigger game companies, indie game developers didn’t like it as much. Then the company introduced Steam Greenlight. which served as a polling station. Statistics on video gaming show that the community chose the games they wanted to play until eventually Steam Greenlight was replaced with Steam Direct.

(CS Agents, PCGamesN)

5. Today, 83% of video game sales happen in the digital world.

Unlike now, back in the 2000s, when you wanted to purchase a video game, you had to go to a retail shop. Today, big publishers like Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard benefit from digital distribution in many ways. The exponential gaming industry growth is partially due to the fact that these companies don’t have to deal with manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and wholesale. Now it’s sufficient to post your game through online channels, like Steam or Apple Store.

(Global X ETFs)

6. Over 227 million people in the US play video games one to a few hours per week. Approximately 74% of US households consist of at least one member who plays video games. According to video gaming statistics, roughly 76% of Americans under 18 and 67% of adults play games. Even 7% of people older than 65 play video games. The average age of a video game player in the US is 31 years.

(ESA)

7. Around 63% of developers are creating games for PC.

PC remains one of the most popular platforms for developers to make games for. Sony, however, is leading over Microsoft in the console field. For reference, 21% of developers create games for PS4, and over 22% do it for Xbox One. Gaming stats further show that 31% are working on games for PS5 in the context of the next-generation consoles. Alternatively, more than 29% are working on Xbox Series X games. For users, however, mobile gaming is the most popular segment, with 48% of players engaging regularly.

(WePC, Statista)

8. SurfShark is rated as the best gaming VPN, with over 3,200 servers in 65 countries. Other popular VPNs for gaming include CyberGhost or NordVPN. But you probably wonder why you need one. Well, these can benefit gamers in several ways. First, they can make it more difficult for rivals to use DDoS to attack other players. This service also provides a security layer.

(SurfShark)

Interesting Gaming Industry Statistics

9. In 2021, gamers in the US spent $60.4 billion on games.

This implies an 8% increase compared to 2020. In addition, the spending on games increased by a staggering 14% compared to the year before. Finally, forecasts for the near future show that the gaming industry worth might reach $200 billion by 2023. It’s worth mentioning that consumer spending on accessories generated $2.7 billion, a 2% increase.

(PR Newswire, Newzoo)

10. The Asia Pacific region is predicted to hold the largest gaming market share between 2020 and 2027. According to the statistics on video games, the Asia Pacific region is anticipated to account for the largest market share in the global gaming industry. Japan, China, and South Korea show high potential for this market’s growth. Also, significant drivers include constant innovation in games and consoles and rising exports. Lastly, China is one of the countries in this region that has seen a considerable Covid-related growth in its gaming businesses.

(Mordor Intelligence)

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11. The gaming industry is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 12% between 2020 and 2025. Although people have been talking about VR for some time now, it’s only now gaining prominence in the industry. Video gaming industry statistics indicate that in 2020, immersive gaming generated $4.5 billion. This, however, is just one of the drivers of the field. For instance, blockchain technology will also boost the growth of the industry. Its value lies in providing a useful tool to gamers for the decentralized asset exchanges, verifiable scarcity of collectibles and virtual objects, and secure payment networks.

(GlobeNewswire)

12. Online game revenue is estimated to reach $26.29 billion in 2022.

As a matter of fact, this field will experience rapid growth, with a CAGR of 6.46% between 2022 and 2026. Online gaming industry statistics show that this will result in a market worth of over $33.77 billion by 2026. The average revenue per user will climb to $22.48. With that in mind and the fact that user penetration will probably reach 15.4% by 2026, we can say that the video game industry revenue growth is inevitable. China will lead the way with the most revenue generated there (over $6,053 million in 2022).

(Statista)

13. Around 85% of all revenue in the digital game industry comes from free-to-play games. This segment has been a leader in the industry for some time now. The digital market generated $109.8 billion back in 2018, sending a very good signal to Activision-Blizzard, Ubisoft, Tencent that their strategies are working.

(WePC, TweakTown)

14. About 22% of gamers spend around 61-80% of their time playing multiplayer online games. Multiplayer online games, or commonly known MMOs, or similarly role-playing games (RPGs), are some of the most addictive ones out there. One of the main reasons for this would probably be their inherent social element. To illustrate, players often interact with many people, compete in different challenges, and create new roles in which they can be someone else. According to video gaming addiction statistics, one of the most “hooking” games is Fortnite, with over 200 million players.

(The Recovery Village)

15. Between 1% and 10% of the population in North America and Europe suffer from Internet gaming disorder. This figure varies across countries. For example, around 0.3% to 1% of adults in the UK, US, Germany, and Canada receive the diagnosis of IGD. Game addiction is common in many other parts of the globe, gaming addiction stats show. For instance, South Korea declared this issue a public health crisis, with over 600,000 children suffering from it. With 22.8%, Iran, however, has the highest game addiction rate. Age-wise, 8.4% of children and teens have problems with game addiction. And while gaming is considered a male-dominated domain, research indicates that women are more susceptible to addiction to mobile games than men.

(Healthy Gamer)

Mobile Gaming Statistics & Facts

16. There were around 14.1 billion mobile game downloads across both app stores in the first quarter of 2021. Facts and figures regarding apps point out that 14.1 billion mobile games were downloaded worldwide across both app stores, and 11.8 billion of the total game downloads were from Google Play. Mobile game downloads, especially on Android devices, experienced a considerable boost because of the global coronavirus pandemic.

(Statista)

17. By 2025, the mobile games industry will most probably reach $138 billion. The figure above includes mobile gaming industry statistics for Apple Store and Google Play. The adoption of mobile gaming has accelerated at a significant level since the first smartphones. At one point, we had Angry Birds, and now, we have more advanced play-style games, like Pokemon GO and Fortnite taking over the world.

(Sensor Tower)

18. In the US, people usually have around eight games installed per device. On a global level, people play two to five games monthly. The hours these users spend on games grow at a rate of 10% per year. In 2019, mobile gaming accounted for 10% of all user spending on apps. Mobile and video game usage statistics show that mobile games were on track to account for 60% of consumer spending by the end of 2019.

(TechCrunch)

19. In 2020, players spent 4.2 hours per day on Android mobile games. This translates to 3.5 trillion hours, up 20% from 2019. For comparison purposes, people spent 3.7 hours watching TV at the same time. Despite the stereotype that only young people spend time on mobile games, it’s not quite like that. For instance, in the US, Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X/Baby Boomers spent 16%, 18%, and 30% more time in their most-used apps, respectively, than a year before. In line with the mobile gaming stats, core games accounted for 55% of the time spent on games.

(App Annie)

20. The most popular Android game app in the US is Subway Surfers. For reference, it has nearly two million active users each day, making it one of the most “populous” games. Clash of Clans comes in second with around 1.94 million daily active users. Number three on the list is the well-known Candy Crush Saga with its 1.4 million active daily users. In fourth and fifth place, we have 8 Ball Pool and Roblox, with 1.45 and 1.14 million DAUs, according to mobile gaming market statistics.

(Statista)

21. About 74% of American mobile gamers prefer to watch in-game ads if they get perks. 70% of Android users don’t like mobile ads on websites and stores, but games are an entirely different story. 82% of mobile gamers in the US would rather play free games with ads than pay for mobile games to join. This doesn’t mean that free games can’t generate revenue; in fact, most of them rely on in-app purchases, which account for 95% of spending among mobile gamers.

(Business of Apps)

PC Gaming vs Console Gaming Statistics

22. Sony sold approximately 0.2 million PlayStation 4 and 3.9 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the Q3 of 2021. Nonetheless, it didn’t beat its 2019 figure, especially if we look at the total 2020 results when Sony sold around 5.8 million PS4 consoles, marking an all-time low. However, the biggest reason behind this was the launch of its latest generation, PS5, at the end of 2020. Sony’s PS line of consoles ranks among the best in the industry. It is sufficient to say that five of its products rank on the list of top 10 highest selling consoles ever. An interesting fact is that PS2 ranks as the number one on the list, with 157 million units sold worldwide.

(Statista)

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23. By 2025, the PC gaming industry alone will accumulate $46.7 billion.

Even in 2020, it was already quite popular among gamers. Not to mention the continuous appeal PC gaming has to gamers despite the increased popularity of mobile and console platforms. Its worth in 2020 was about $42.2 billion. PC gaming industry statistics show that PC gaming growth will most likely slow in the next few years due to the rising popularity of console games.

(Statista)

24. The best-selling PC game of all time is PlayerUnknown’s Battleground, with over 70 million copies sold worldwide. PUBG has managed to acquire up to $10 million in sales at the turn of the year. On top of that, it sold over 10 million in the second half of 2018, reaching 50 million by the end of 2019. Apart from this success, people downloaded PUBG Mobile 600 million times. Likewise, it was about to surpass $1 billion in revenue (China excluded).

(PCGamesN)

Statistics on Video Gamers

25. 41% of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners are female.

Despite existing gender stereotypes about gamers, the number of women who own gaming consoles has doubled compared to 30 years ago.gender gaming statistics still suggest that developers need to consider this when building a game by introducing strong female characters.

(Console Creatures)

26. People between 18 and 34 comprise 38% of gamers in the US. Many gamers are older than that despite widespread perceptions. The diversification of games has impacted the shift in audiences, as well. If we look at the figures, we notice that 20% of gamers are under 18, video gamers statistics show. Even older generations play video games, as 14% of Americans who are gamers are 35-44, 12% are 45-54, while 9% are 55-64. In addition, 7% of gamers are 65 or older.

(Statista)

27. About 74% of parents in the US played video games with their children on a weekly basis. There are no conclusive facts about parents who are actual video game players. Still, the growth is evident, as, in 2020, 55% of parents played video games with their children. Compared to 2021, that is an increase of nearly 35%.

(ESA)

Gaming Statistics Worldwide

28. Around 40% of US gamers make in-app purchases.

Americans seem to be quite big on spending on the content in the games, which are typically free. In most cases, these in-app add ons help players pass some levels. Users further spent $35.8 billion on video gaming content in 2018. Likewise, consumers forked out about $6 billion on hardware and accessories.

(Statista)

29. The UK video game market reached over £7.16 billion in 2022.

Gaming statistics for the UK show that the biggest winner of this year was Nintendo Switch. Namely thanks to Nintendo, console hardware sales made up £1.13 billion of the overall value of the market, which is an over 30% increase compared to the previous year.

(BBC)

30. The most popular strategy game in Malaysia was Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, with 35% of the urban population playing it in 2020. Aside from being the most popular game in the strategy section, this category is also one of the most popular among the online urban population. The developer of the game, Moonton, is originally Chinese and represents a prime example of great market penetration in Southeast Asia, gaming statistics for Malaysia show. Similarly, all top five most sought-after franchises included games from foreign developers. For instance, over a third (36%) of people played the Mario franchise.

(Newzoo)

31. 91% of Australian households have a video game device of any kind. The average age of an Australian video game player is 34 and almost half of those who play video games are women. Gaming statistics for Australia such as this one show that the gender gap, meanwhile, has narrowed, reaching nearly a 50/50 ratio. Older Australian citizens also love to play games, as 42% of people aged 65 and over identify as gamers.

(IGEA)

32. In 2019, Filipino players won five medals in the eSports category at Southeast Asia Games. As the industry gains strong momentum, eSports is becoming popular for online gamers. The sector accumulated $24 million in revenues in the Philippines during 2020. However, according to gaming statistics, the Philippines face a challenge — low internet speed. In comparison, average mobile and fixed internet download speeds globally were 33.71 Mbps and 76.94 Mbps, respectively. In the Philippines, by contrast, these numbers stood at only 31.44 Mbps and 22.5 Mbps.

(Statista)

33. Canada’s video games industry is set to reach $1,499 million in revenue in 2022. Gaming statistics for Canada show that the video game industry’s worth in Canada is predicted to reach almost $1.5 million this year. Also, its revenue is projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.17% by 2026. The same report also reveals that the number of users in the video game segment will amount to 14.9 million by 2026.

(Statista)

The Bottom Line

Gaming is one of the fastest-growing as well as the largest segments of the entertainment industry. With the growing online presence and increased digital literacy, many people will soon become gamers of some sort. However, the chances are that games are already everywhere around us. Or you know someone who doesn’t have any games on their phone, right there in their pocket? Because, as gaming statistics show, that’s very unlikely. Sources: Marketer, Global X ETFs, PR Newswire, Newzoo, WePC, Statista, TweakTown, Statista, Statista, Statista, Statista, CS Agents, PCGamesN, ESA, SurfShark, Mordor Intelligence, GlobeNewswire, Statista, The Recovery Village, Healthy Gamer, Sensor Tower, TechCrunch, App Annie, Statista, Business of Apps, Statista, PCGamesN, Console Creatures, Statista, BBC, Newzoo, IGEA, Statista, Statista, Statista, Statista

truelist.co - Gaming Statistics 2023 - TrueList

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