The Gaming Industry Is Now Worth $202 Billion
There are over 3.09 billion active gamers across the globe, and the industry’s worth is expected to reach $3.32 billion by 2024. Every year, Newzoo publishes its Global Games Market Report, which enlightens readers on the latest developments in the sector. The report shows that the industry’s goals have changed significantly since pre-pandemic days. Top developers are focused on making games ubiquitously accessible. What’s more, they are prioritizing captivating visuals and engaging gameplay, and figuring out ways to boost affordability for all gamers. New advances in cloud computing are allowing users to play games that would have required expensive hardware and high-end devices in the past. As such, gaming is a far more egalitarian pastime than it was just a decade ago. Below are just a few highlights from the Global Games Market Report.
The Rise of Online Championships and E-Sports
In 2022, e-sports experienced a viewership of over 500 million, generating $1.38 billion in revenue. Many e-sports tournaments now feature prize pools of over $40,000,000, and are thus seen as a lucrative source of income for younger and more seasoned players. However, e-sports is not only enticing players, but also millions of viewers, who simply wish to catch their favorite gamers and influencers in action. The pandemic led to a 12% year-on-year increase in viewership across a host of live viewing platforms. In 2022, there were 249.5 million occasional e-sports viewers and 240 million esports enthusiasts. This gives a total combined viewership of 532 million! According to Newzoo, esports revenues will have a compound annual growth rate of 13.4% from 2020 to 2025.
Mobile Gaming
Approximately 60% of the entire gaming industry is dominated by mobile gaming and in 2022, this sector generated $91 billion. The reason for its popularity is simple: these games are much more accessible than traditional video games, and they can be played anywhere, at any time. Over the past few years, publishers have been adapting their games to run on lower end hardware such as tablets and smartphones due to the immense demand, prioritizing user experience and gameplay over visuals. Game designers have adapted to the differences in hardware performance by creating unique visual styles—including colorful pixel art animations and cel-shaded cartoon characters. As for monetization, mobile games typically operate using hybrid monetization systems, combining microtransactions with advertisements. Other games use subscription based models, offering new bonuses each month.
The Impact of Generative AI
Generative AI has the ability to automate many of the most time-consuming tasks involved in game development. These include generating levels, writing character dialogues, and creating assets. AI can also help generate more exciting, immersive game environments and characters. For instance, this technology can be used to create photorealistic textures, non-player characters that interact with players more intelligently, and to identify the parts of games that people enjoy the most. AI can additionally be relied upon to generate bespoke levels that are on par with individual players’ skills. Through AI, developers can surprise players creative new genres based on user-generate content, ensuring that games are consistently changing and evolving.
The sky-high net worth of the gaming industry means that developers will soon have considerably more funds to meet gamers’ demands and provide more realistic, exciting, lower-cost games. Just a few of the strongest forces in the industry include e-sports, mobile gaming, and AI. The latter, in particular, will be revolutionizing the gaming experience, with personalized games that evolve and challenge players in accordance with their abilities and interests.
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