Judging by the numbers we’ll crunch down in the following article, the growth and impact of the gaming industry are remarkable. The gaming statistics you’re about the read will help you gain valuable insights regarding the industry’s worth, gamers’ habits & demographics, and more! So, without further ado, let’s dig into the most extensive gaming data report online.
Top 10 Gaming Statistics in 2023
The gaming market was valued at USD 198.40 billion in 2021.
The total digital gaming market is projected to reach $304.7 by 2027.
The global PC gaming market was valued at $44.6 billion in 2021.
US video game spending was $60.8 billion in 2021.
There are 228.7 million active mobile gamers in US and Canada.
66% of Americans play video games regularly.
The average video game player is 33 years old.
70% of gaming enthusiasts play video games on their smartphones.
The UK video games market reached an all-time high value in 2021, at £7.16 billion.
With a 14.2% CAGR from 2021 through 2026, Turkey is the fastest-growing country by consumer gaming revenue.
General Gaming Stats
66% of Americans play video games regularly.
The times when only kids played video games are long gone since the gaming community is as diverse as possible. Approximately two-thirds of Americans, regardless of their gender, race, or age, play video games regularly. 52% of players identify as male while there are 48% of female gamers in the US.
(ESA)
More than 50% of all American gamers played multiplayer games in 2021.
Multiplayer games appeal to a wide audience and both genders. Namely, 62% of male and 50% of female gamers enjoyed the excitement that playing with other players in real-time brings. Moreover, video gamer statistics show that the amount of time people spend playing multiplayer has been increasing steadily since 2019 and it’s expected to grow in years to come.
(Unity)
31% of developers work on games for PS5.
Still, at the time when the survey was done, the majority of US game developers worked on games for PC. Namely, 63% of them were busy providing PC gamers with additional amusement material. Android and iOS games share the third place with 30% of surveyed developers working on each of them.
(Statista)
70% of gaming enthusiasts play video games on their smartphones.
As video game usage statistics suggest, a vast majority of players enjoy gaming on the go. However, 60% of gamers said they play games on multiple devices. Therefore, it’s important to note that 52% of them play on consoles, 43% on PC, and 26% on tablets. 7% of gamers play on VR devices but this number is expected to grow in years to come since the size of the VR gaming industry is expected to reach $92.3 billion by 2027.
(ESA)
50% of gamers say the main purchase reason is the game’s quality.
When it comes to main purchase decision influencers, it’s quality over quantity in the gaming industry. The pricing factor mustn’t be neglected as well, with 44% of gamers saying the price has a big effect on their purchase behavior. Finally, online reviews can be a game-changer since 86% of players say they take review scores into consideration before purchasing games.
(ESA)
Gaming Industry Statistics
The gaming market was valued at USD 198.40 billion in 2021.
The market is expected to reach a value of $339.95 billion by 2027. If this happens, it would be a CAGR of 8.94% between 2022 and 2027. The gaming market’s continuous growth is mostly attributed to nationwide lockdowns and the rising quality of games.
(Mordor Intelligence)
The global PC gaming market was valued at $44.6 billion in 2021.
The PC gaming market is projected to reach $46.7 billion in 2026. Ever since 2019, the industry has been growing at a steady pace. The PC video game industry’s growth is a bit slowed down with the rise of console gaming popularity, but the loyalty of PC gamers seems to be strong.
(Statista)
US consumer spending on video game products decreased by 13% in 2022.
When compared to Q2 2021, video game consumer spending in Q2 2022 fell by $1.78 billion. The only category that didn’t suffer a drop in this period was non-mobile subscription content. Reasons for this turn of events are manifold, but increased price of living and return of experiential spendings such as travel and live events seem to be the main ones.
(NPD)
The number of games made on the Unity platform increased by 93%.
Although the industry seems to be shaken a bit by the drops, developers on Unity have their hands on more projects than ever. Namely, according to video game sales statistics by year, the number of games made in 2021 doubled the 2020 numbers, while the number of creators on Unity increased by 31% in the same timeframe.
(Unity)
With $23.7 billion of revenue, online games are the second highest contributor in the digital gaming market.
However, the top digital gaming market’s moneymakers are mobile games since their revenues accounted for $142.9 billion in 2021. The total gaming industry market size is expected to reach $304.7 billion in 2027.
(Statista)
With a 1% YoY growth, mobile game consumer spending in Europe reached $2.8 billion during Q1 2022.
The surge in gaming consumer spending in Europe caused the mobile video game industry size to rise by 75% between 2018 and 2022. Tencent, as the fastest-growing publisher in Europe, benefited the most from this surge as it saw a 64% YoY revenue growth.
(SensorTower)
Asia is the top region for mobile games by consumer spending.
However, when compared to 2021’s Q1, the mobile gaming revenue in Asia dropped by a whopping $11.2 billion in Q2 2022. This translates into a 7% YoY decrease. Still, with Japan and China leading the way, Asia is still the biggest market as far as mobile games are concerned.
(SensorTower)
Video Game Statistics
US video game spending was $60.8 billion in 2021.
Consumer spending on video game hardware, content, and accessories in the US is projected to reach $55.5 billion in 2022, a significant decline compared to 2021. However, video game consumer spending is still quite higher than before the pandemic. Namely, in 2019, the revenue was “only” $43.4 billion.
(NPD)
86% of parents agree that video games can be educational.
This just goes to prove that games aren’t just played for fun. In fact, as video game player statistics show, 88% of parents report they think video games can help improve teamwork and cooperation skills. Moreover, an astonishing 91% of them think video games can help develop problem-solving skills which is a huge benefit for kids at an early age.
(ESA)
87% of people believe there’s a video game for everyone.
Although preferences, playing times, and ways of gaming differ between generations, one is for sure--there’s a game for everyone! 62% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 prefer arcade games while 82% of seniors older than 65 say they prefer playing puzzles.
(ESA)
Statistics on Video Gamers
7% of gamers in South Africa spend 14-21 hours playing games on their phones.
A recent global survey conducted in April 2022 showed that the average gamer spent one to seven hours per week playing games on their handheld devices. Regarding weekly engagement, gamers from Australia, Germany, and Great Britain ranked last.
(Statista)
The average gamer spends 10 hours per week playing games on their smartphones or tablets.
The number is 8 hours higher than in 2020 which means that even though the gaming industry revenue is dropping in 2022, player engagement is still quite up there. As a result of the steady levels of engagement, mobile gamers' purchases through iOS and Google Play stores generated $18.8 billion for the industry which is $2.6 billion higher than in 2020.
(NPD)
46% of gamers say they met a significant other through playing video games.
This number is up from 42% while 61% of the interviewed people say that, thanks to video games, they met people they wouldn’t have met otherwise. Therefore, one of the most fascinating gaming industry facts suggests that 78% of players report that playing video games is beneficial for social interaction.
(ESA)
52% of gamers play video games on consoles.
Still, the highest people of people still play games on smartphones. Even though the survey we mentioned above claims most developers work on games for PC, only 43% of people across the board play games on their personal computers. It’s also important to note that 60% of people play games on multiple devices with 36% of them playing games on both mobile and console.
(ESA)
63% of seniors play games on their smartphones.
Gaming device preferences pretty much differ between various age groups. Only 56% of people over 65 play with others, while the number is significantly higher for people from 18-34, at 92%. As far as device preferences are concerned, 63% of seniors play video games on their smartphones, while 57% of them use computers for their gaming experiences.
(ESA)
Mobile Gaming Industry Statistics
There are 228.7 million active mobile gamers in US and Canada.
Although the number seems enormous, mobile gaming participation is down by 10 million when compared to 2020. However, it’s not all gloomy because the number of active mobile gamers in 2019 was 214.1 million. Video game stats suggest that the number of active mobile gamers older than 2 in the US and Canada is 6% higher today than it was in 2019.
(NPD)
Mobile gaming revenue in the US and Canada for 2021 was $18.8 billion.
Mobile game and in-app purchases generated a total of $18.8 billion in net revenue on iOS App Store and Google Play Store combined. The number is $2.6 billion higher than in 2020, but in the first two quarters of 2022, the global revenue saw its first decline in history. This speaks volumes about the gaming industry's growth rate and why we expect it to bounce back in years to come.
(NPD)
With 55% of the market share, iOS is the most popular mobile gaming operating system.
Android takes the runner-up position with 47% of gamers playing on Android phones and/or tablets. 55.8 million people in Canada and US play only on iPhones while the number of people who only play on iOS devices is 106.6 million. 55.9 million people play on Android phone devices only while 84.6 million people play games on all Android devices.
(NPD)
70% of the US top 100 grossing iOS games feature meta elements.
Meta elements have become crucial for the success of casual games since they bring a sense of diversity and progression to the players. Moreover, meta elements bring additional monetization methods through collections and customization elements which could be useful info for game developers worldwide to significantly increase the average video game sales.
(GameRefinery)
With $31.8 million in in-app revenues, Artifex Mundi is the top gaming app publisher on Google Play.
Kind and Moon Active are second and third, with $28.86 and $27 million of revenue, respectively. To round up the top 5 list, we have Blizzard Entertainment and Big Fish Games with $26.54 and $23.13 million, respectively.
(Statista)
In Q1 2022, 14.4 billion mobile games were downloaded from Google Play and iOS app stores.
The vast majority, or 12.1 billion, were downloaded on Google Play. Statistics about video games suggest that, historically, the only time when this number was higher was in 2020’s Q2 when the pandemic was at its peak. Mobile games reached their peak during the pandemic, but even with the health measures loosened, the number is up from 11.8 billion downloads in Q1 2021.
(Statista)
As of June 2022, Subway Surfers is the most-played Android gaming app in the United States.
Ever since its release in 2012, Subway Surfers was one of the most popular Android gaming apps in the United States. As of June 2022, it has almost 2.3 million active users on a daily basis. The two most important games besides Subway Surfers are Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga with 1.87 and 1.43 million daily active users, respectively.
(Statista)
Video Game Player Demographics
The average video game player is 33 years old.
Moreover, 76% of all gamers worldwide are people over 18. Additionally, 6% of the video gaming community consists of people over the age of 65, while 36% of gamers are people between the ages of 18 and 34. Finally, it’s important to note that 69% of Americans have at least one video game player in their household.
(ESA)
41% of Playstation owners are female.
Sony boasts of this fact since it’s a significant jump when compared to the original PlayStation era. Namely, Sony’s video game sales analysis brought us to the fact that only 18% of PS1 owners were women which goes to show that female gamers are definitely on the rise.
(Sony)
4.5% of female gamers purchase in-app game content.
Men, on the other hand, don’t pay as often with only 3.3% of male gamers buying collectibles, upgrades, and other gimmicks while playing video games. These last two video game industry facts clearly show the direction in which the gaming market is moving and consequently, game developers and publishers worldwide should adapt to maximize the potential earnings from different demographic categories.
(Mordor Intelligence)
47% of the top 1000 Games in the US in 2021 skew towards female audiences.
In 2019, the percentage of female-skewing games was 37% which goes to prove publishers have been already shifting toward the female gaming world. Countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, and France also follow this trend, with the growth being highest in France, at 17%.
(Data.ai)
Gaming Industry Trends
Mobile gaming ad revenue is projected to increase to roughly $7.9 billion by 2024.
By the end of 2022, the number reached $6.22 billion which is a 13.2% YoY increase. The number has been consistently growing over the last few years since it was only 4.1 billion in 2020.
(Statista)
The total digital gaming market is projected to reach $304.7 by 2027.
In 2021, global mobile gaming revenue was the biggest segment of the digital gaming market, approximately valued at $142.9 billion. According to online gaming statistics, the second largest contributor was online games with a revenue share of $23.7 billion.
(Statista)
Globally, the number of players will grow from 2.9 billion in 2020 to 3.5 billion by 2025.
This represents a five-year CAGR of 4.2%. This trend is expected to continue in years to come since the pandemic era did not only bring new users and record levels of engagement but also returned the old players to their gaming habits.
(Newzoo)
Video Game Sales by Country
The UK video games market reached an all-time high value in 2021, at £7.16 billion.
Compared to 2020, this was a 2% increase and this comes as no surprise since many turned to gaming during lockdowns. Although the increase wasn’t as high as the 30ish percent leap between 2019 and 2020, it’s still mind-blowing to see that the video game market in the UK jumped from £5.35 billion in 2019 to £7.16 billion in 2021.
(BBC)
With a 14.2% CAGR from 2021 through 2026, Turkey is the fastest-growing country by consumer gaming revenue.
Due to its aging population and the high popularity of the gaming industry, Japan is on the opposite side of the spectrum with a CAGR of just 1.4% through 2026. As far as video game sales statistics are concerned, Turkey’s competitors are only Argentina with a CAGR of 10.4% by 2026, and India with a CAGR of 9.1% for the same period.
(PWC)
Console sales brought in £1.13 billion in the UK in 2021.
You’ve probably experienced the frenzy when PS5 first came out, so this shouldn’t surprise you. Although the supply chain of consoles got many people frustrated, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S console sales brought the UK gaming market to record heights in 2021.
(BBC)
Gaming markets in the US and Japan suffered a double-digit revenue decline during Q1 2022.
Although video game popularity statistics show that the situation is not as gloomy as it seems, 2022 has brought a significant downfall to the gaming industry. Out of the top 5 largest gaming markets globally, only Taiwan saw a 7% YoY revenue increase during Q1 2022.
(SensorTower)
Video Game Sales by Genre
With a growth of 14.7%, simulation is the fastest-growing genre of live Unity games.
With 13% and 12.6%, respectively, casual and adventure games take the silver and bronze medals. On the other side of the spectrum, casino games have suffered a 3.3% downfall making them one of two genres to experience a drop, the second one being sports games.
(Unity)
Hypercasual games’ in-app purchase revenue grew by over 162%.
Even though all gaming genres saw an increase in IAPs in 2021, the winners in this category were puzzle, card, adventure, casual, and hypercasual games. Action, role-playing, and arcade game genres got the shorter end of the stick, since, according to video game sales by year data, their revenues grew the least.
(Unity)
The top 3 genres in terms of downloads from paid channels are hypercasual, casino, and match.
Puzzle, tabletop, and strategy genres are not far behind while the list is rounded up with RPG, sports, action, and shooting games. The top 5 genres by growth between 2020 and 2021 are action, puzzle, simulation, games for kids, and racing.
(Data.ai)
RPG generated the most revenue out of game genres in 2021.
Revenue growth was highest in the strategy genre since it was estimated at $2 billion YoY, while RPG was runner-up with a $1.2 billion YoY growth. The fastest-growing genre is action, depicted in the success of Genshin Impact.
(SensorTower)
FAQs on Gaming Statistics
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The Summary
The post-pandemic era brought a slight downfall to the industry, but the gaming market is still going strong and growing in various aspects year after year. Recent trends show that the industry should grow almost 9% by 2027 and data about the gaming industry value shows there’s no reason to doubt that claim.
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