The gaming industry is an umbrella for all things interesting: console, PC, video, mobile, cloud, and VR/AR gaming.
Each category appeals to different market segments, and millions of internet users are spending a huge amount of cash to satisfy their gamer instincts.
How much is the gaming industry worth in 2025? Who are the biggest market players?
Gamers and marketers, interesting facts about gaming come right up in this article.
How Much is the Gaming Industry Worth in 2025?
In 2023, the worldwide gaming industry is worth a whopping $257 billion.
Despite this being an impressive figure, forward projections show the industry hitting $321 billion in value by 2026.
The rapid growth started during the pandemic, with people running short of entertainment avenues due to lockdowns.
Mobile gaming successfully captured 60% of the entire gaming industry.
The segment’s value hit $136 billion in 2022, leaving its close competitors far off behind.
PC gaming’s value stagnated at $40 billion, sharing the same dollar value with home-installed gaming consoles.
Meanwhile, handheld consoles captured the smallest share at only $4 billion.
Gaming Revenue Over the Years
The entire gaming industry is driven by its better-performing segments namely social/casual gaming, PC gaming, and console gaming.
How much was the gaming industry worth from 2017 to 2022? And what about its projected value for 2023 to 2026?
Check out the latest data we gathered from the World Economic Forum site:
Total Gaming Revenue from 2017 to 2022:
- 2017 – the gaming industry’s market value was $120.4 billion during the year
- 2018 – the gaming industry’s market value was $139.2 billion during the year
- 2019 – the gaming industry’s market value was $162.4 billion during the year
- 2020 – the gaming industry’s market value was $196.9 billion during the year
- 2021 – the gaming industry’s market value was $214.2 billion during the year
- 2022 – the gaming industry’s market value was $235.7 billion during the year
Projections for 2023 to 2026:
- 2023 – the gaming industry’s market value is expected to hit $257.1 billion this year
- 2024 – the gaming industry’s market value is projected to come to $278.4 billion during the year
- 2025 – the gaming industry’s market value is projected to come to $299.9 billion during the year
- 2026 – the gaming industry’s market value is projected to come to $321.1 billion during the year
Gaming Revenue by Segment
Below is detailed information on each segment’s market value from 2017 to 2022. Included is a projection for 2023 to 2026.
PC Gaming
This gaming segment involves using a personal computer, often at high graphic and
gaming configuration, for gaming.
- 2017 – the segment’s annual revenue was $25.5 billion
- 2018 – the segment’s annual revenue was $27.3 billion
- 2019 – the segment’s annual revenue was $28.9 billion
- 2020 – the segment’s annual revenue was $31.3 billion
- 2021 – the segment’s annual revenue was $33.7 billion
- 2022 – the segment’s annual revenue was $35.2 billion
- 2023 – the segment’s annual revenue is forecasted to come to $25.5 billion this year
Console Gaming
This gaming segment is defined by the use of a specialized device called “gaming
console” used to display graphics on television.
- 2017 – the segment’s annual revenue was $23.8 billion
- 2018 – the segment’s annual revenue was $25.0 billion
- 2019 – the segment’s annual revenue was $25.6 billion
- 2020 – the segment’s annual revenue was $28.6 billion
- 2021 – the segment’s annual revenue was $28.3 billion
- 2022 – the segment’s annual revenue was $29.2 billion
- 2023 – the segment’s annual revenue is forecasted to come to $30.0 billion this year
Social/Casual Gaming
This gaming segment is categorized by a motivating factor defined as social or casual gaming.
- 2017 – this gaming segment generated annual revenue of $67.7 billion during the period
- 2018 – this gaming segment generated annual revenue of $83.2 billion during the period
- 2019 – this gaming segment generated annual revenue of $103.9 billion during the period
- 2020 – this gaming segment generated annual revenue of $132.9 billion during the period
- 2021 – this gaming segment generated annual revenue of $148.0 billion during the period
- 2022 – this gaming segment generated annual revenue of $167.0 billion during the period
- 2023 – this gaming segment is forecasted to generate annual revenue of $185.8 billion this year
Biggest Gaming Companies by Market Capitalization 2023
The world’s biggest gaming companies continued to bring in fresh money into their balance sheets this year.
Activision Blizzard, the world’s largest gaming firm in terms of market cap, is estimated to be valued near $60.0 billion as of January 2023.
- Activision Blizzard – the company has a market capitalization of $59.91 billion as of January 2023
- Nintendo – the company has a market capitalization of $48.53 billion as of January 2023
- Electronic Arts – the company has a market capitalization of $33.73 billion as of January 2023
- Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc – the company has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion as of January 2023
- Roblox Corporation – the company has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion as of January 2023
- Embracer Group – the company has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion as of January 2023
- Square Enix Holding Group – the company has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion as of January 2023
- Ubisoft – the company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion as of January 2023
- CD Projekt – the company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion as of January 2023
In-game Purchase Spending
Today’s consumers spend big on subscriptions, consumables, and non-consumables while playing.
Everyone wants to see their characters with the latest skins and armor, shedding a little bit of cash is not a problem for avid gamers.
Here is the in-game purchase spending’s overall worth from 2020 to 2023:
- 2020 – in-game consumer spending was worth $54 billion during the year
- 2021 – in-game consumer spending was worth $61 billion during the year
- 2022 – in-game consumer spending was worth $65 billion during the year
- 2023 – in-game consumer spending is expected to be worth $68 billion this year
Conclusion
How much is the gaming industry worth in 2025? The answer is $257 billion!
The industry continuously grows in value, and in a couple of years, it will be worth double than it is today.
Consumers are willing to spend a good amount of cash for in-game purchases.
Spending hit $65 billion last year and is projected to climb to $68 billion in 2023.
Considering that there are currently 3 billion gamers all over the world, we expect an exponential climb in gaming industry revenue in the coming years.