SuperData recently posted a report titled Global Games Market Report 2015, which breaks down just how much video games are making — and the numbers are quite staggering.
The firm has valued the worldwide market for “interactive entertainment,” as it deems it, at $74.2 billion for 2015, with an expected growth of ten percent over the next three years. That places gaming as the third largest category in the overall entertainment market.
“Over the past decade, interactive entertainment has almost tripled in size as a result of a range of innovations. As the industry has changed, so, too has the audience,” said SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen.
He added, “People don’t just consume entertainment but increasingly play an active part in it. Ranging from modding to streaming, from cosplay to competitive gaming, the market for gaming presents a much broader and more diverse mix of opportunities than ever before.”
The market has been broken down into various groups, but mobile leads the charge with $22.3 billion. Closely behind is the retail market with $19.7 billion; free-to-play MMO’s with $8.7 billion; social with $7.9 billion and PC with $7.5 billion. Meanwhile, the digital market continues to grow with $3.1 billion, while eSports is slowly but surely crawling forward, nearly at $1 billion in itself.
Other key findings from the report are as follows:
- Digital game categories like mobile and free-to-play MMO’s are driving industry growth, while virtual reality and gaming video content continue to emerge.
- Asia has the largest global games market for the near future, although the North American market remains quite strong. Free-to-play MMO’s and mobile are helping Asia keep the lead for now.
- New devices and platforms are driving growth for interactive entertainment, although the retail-based business could decline once the current hardware cycle matures in early 2017.
- Games claim a growing share (13 percent) of total revenue in key entertainment markets. In the United States, gaming has managed to triple its share of the total market over the last 30 years.
- Interactive entertainment is ready to enter its next era with users in control. Physical and digital distribution will provide more user control with ownership and content creation.
The full report can be found here.