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Value of the global video games market 2012-2021
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Value of the global video games market 2012-2021
Value of the global video games market from 2012 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)
by Christina Gough,
last edited
Sep 14, 2018
This timeline presents a forecast of the value of the global video game market from 2012 to 2021. In 2018, the market was expected to be worth approximately 115 billion U.S. dollars and the source projects the industry revenues to surpass 138 billion by 2021.
Video game industry worldwide - additional information
In 1960s America, arcade video games were all the rage, as they provided the thrill of amusement-park entertainment without the travel time and costs. All one needed was to introduce a coin to a machine located within an amusement arcade, at the mall or in front of the local convenience store. The ‘70s, however, brought with them the personal computer hobby culture on a wider scale and home video game consoles slowly started to take over the video game market. Although arcade games are still popular in some areas of the world, console and computer games have become a powerful global industry.
Revenues in the gaming industry are based on two major sources, namely hardware, such as consoles, processors, screens, controllers and other accessories, and software – the actual games. Some of the most important players on the computer and video games publishing market are Sony Computer Entertainment (Japan), the current market leader - Tencent Holdings Limited (China), Microsoft (United States) and Nintendo Company Ltd. (Japan). Nintendo’s Wii Sports, a home video game console released in 2006, is also the best-selling console game in the world, with a little over 82.6 million units shipped worldwide, as of 2018, while the life simulation video game series, The Sims 3, is ranked as the best selling PC game of all times, with 7.96 million units sold worldwide.
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by Christina Gough,
last edited
Sep 14, 2018
This timeline presents a forecast of the value of the global video game market from 2012 to 2021. In 2018, the market was expected to be worth approximately 115 billion U.S. dollars and the source projects the industry revenues to surpass 138 billion by 2021.
Video game industry worldwide - additional information
In 1960s America, arcade video games were all the rage, as they provided the thrill of amusement-park entertainment without the travel time and costs. All one needed was to introduce a coin to a machine located within an amusement arcade, at the mall or in front of the local convenience store. The ‘70s, however, brought with them the personal computer hobby culture on a wider scale and home video game consoles slowly started to take over the video game market. Although arcade games are still popular in some areas of the world, console and computer games have become a powerful global industry.
Revenues in the gaming industry are based on two major sources, namely hardware, such as consoles, processors, screens, controllers and other accessories, and software – the actual games. Some of the most important players on the computer and video games publishing market are Sony Computer Entertainment (Japan), the current market leader - Tencent Holdings Limited (China), Microsoft (United States) and Nintendo Company Ltd. (Japan). Nintendo’s Wii Sports, a home video game console released in 2006, is also the best-selling console game in the world, with a little over 82.6 million units shipped worldwide, as of 2018, while the life simulation video game series, The Sims 3, is ranked as the best selling PC game of all times, with 7.96 million units sold worldwide.
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- Release date
- June 2018
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 2012 to 2017
- Supplementary notes
- * Forecast.
Source
- Show sources information
- As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic.
- Show publisher information
- Release date
- June 2018
More information
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 2012 to 2017
- Supplementary notes
- * Forecast.
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Statistics on "Video games market in the U.S."
- Global overview
The most important statistics
- Value of the global video games market from 2012 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)Value of the global video games market 2012-2021
- Video game consumer market value worldwide from 2011 to 2020, by distribution type (in billion U.S. dollars)Video game consumer market value worldwide 2011-2020, by distribution
- Cumulative value of games market mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worldwide from 2010 to 2016 (in million U.S. dollars)Games industry M&A transactions cumulative value worldwide 2010-2016
- Customer preferred gaming platforms according to gaming companies worldwide as of August 2016Customer preferred gaming platforms according to gaming companies worldwide 2016
- Number of active video gamers worldwide from 2014 to 2021 (in millions)Number of video gamers worldwide 2014-2021
- Number of video gamers worldwide in 2018, by region (in millions)Number of video gamers worldwide 2018, by region
- U.S. overview
The most important statistics
- Leading gaming markets in North America in 2018, by revenue (in billion U.S. dollars)U.S., Canada and Mexico gaming revenue in 2018
- Value of the video game market in the United States from 2011 to 2020 (in million U.S. dollars)Value of the video game market in the U.S. from 2011-2020
- Total and segment revenue of the U.S. video game industry from 2016 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Annual revenue of the U.S. video game industry 2016-2018, by segment
- Retail revenue of the U.S. video game industry from January 2017 to July 2019 (in billion U.S. dollars)Revenue of the U.S. video game industry 2017-2019
- Consumer spending on gaming in the United States from 2010 to 2018, by segment (in billion U.S. dollars)Consumer spending on gaming in the U.S. from 2010 to 2018, by segment
- Monthly number of game console users in the United States from 2nd quarter 2012 to 2nd quarter 2017 (in millions)Number of game console users in the U.S. 2012-2017
- Digital games industry revenue in North America from 2017 to 2019, by game category (in billion U.S. dollars)Digital games industry revenue in North America 2017-2019, by category
- Gaming services and platform subscription penetration among gamers in the United States as of December 2016Gaming subscription reach in the U.S. 2016
- Market leaders
The most important statistics
- Gaming revenue of leading public companies worldwide from 2014 to 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)Game revenues of global companies 2014-2017
- Annual revenue of Tencent from 2014 to 2018, by segment (in billion yuan)Tencent: segment revenue distribution 2014-2018
- Sony's revenue worldwide by segment fiscal years 2012 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Sales and revenue of Sony worldwide by business segment 2012-2018
- Activision Blizzard's revenue from 2015 to 2018, by platform (in million U.S. dollars)Activision Blizzard's revenue from 2015-2018, by platform
- Microsoft's revenue from 2012 to 2019 financial years, by segment (in billion U.S. dollars)Revenue of Microsoft broken down by segment 2012-2019
- Revenue comparison of Apple, Google, Alphabet, and Microsoft from 2008 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Apple, Google, and Microsoft: revenue comparison 2008-2018
- Digital revenue generated by Electronic Arts from fiscal 3rd quarter 2013 to 1st quarter 2020, by platform (in million U.S. dollars)EA quarterly digital revenue Q3 2013-Q1 2020, by platform
- Annual online game revenue generated by NetEase Inc. from 2013 to 2016 (in billion yuan)NetEase online game revenue China 2013-2016
- Hardware market and ownership
The most important statistics
- Global revenue of the home consoles hardware market from 2014 to 2018 (in billion euros)Global home consoles hardware sales 2014-2018
- Global revenue of the handheld consoles hardware market from 2014 to 2018 (in billion euros)Global handheld consoles hardware sales 2014-2018
- Gaming peripherals market revenue worldwide in 2016, by component (in million U.S. dollars)Gaming peripherals market revenue in 2016, by component
- Video game console sales worldwide for products total lifespan as of February 2019 (in million units)Lifetime global unit sales of video game consoles as of February 2019
- Share of consumers aware of selected current generation console brands in the United States as of 2017U.S. consumer awareness of selected current generation console brands as of 2017
- Favorite video game devices according to gamers in the United States as of 2019Preferred video game devices in the U.S. 2019
- Which home consoles do you have?Home console brand ownership among gamers in the U.S. 2016
- How much did you spend on hardware/consoles over the last 12 months?Amount spent on gaming hardware according to U.S. gamers 2016
- Software
The most important statistics
- Software revenue of the U.S. video game industry from January 2017 to July 2019 (in million U.S. dollars)Software revenue of the U.S. video game industry 2017-2019
- Genre breakdown of video game sales in the United States in 2018Genre breakdown of U.S. video game sales in 2018
- All-time best-selling console games based on global unit sales as of February 2019 (in million units)All-time best selling console games worldwide 2019, based on unit sales
- Unit sales of the best selling PC games of all time worldwide as of February 2019 (in million units)Best selling PC games of all time worldwide as of February 2019
- Top selling Nintendo Wii game titles worldwide as of March 2019 (in million units)Top selling Nintendo Wii games worldwide in 2019
- Top selling Nintendo DS game titles worldwide as of March 2019 (in million units)Top selling Nintendo DS games worldwide in 2019
- Top selling Nintendo 3DS game titles worldwide as of June 2019 (in million units)Top selling Nintendo 3DS games worldwide in 2019
- Most played games on Steam in 2018, by peak number of concurrent players (in 1,000s)Most played games on Steam 2018, by peak player count
- Consumer behavior
The most important statistics
- Frequency of playing video games on any device according to adults in the United States as of April 2017Frequency of gaming in the U.S. 2017
- Percentage of adults who often and sometimes play video games in the United States as of April 2017, by genderShare of U.S. adults frequently playing video games 2017, by gender
- Percentage of adults who often and sometimes play video games in the United States as of April 2017, by age groupShare of U.S. adults frequently playing video games 2017, by age group
- Percentage of adults who often and sometimes play video games in the United States as of April 2017, by ethnicityShare of U.S. adults frequently playing video games 2017, by ethnicity
- Monthly time spent per capita with a game console in the United States from 2nd quarter 2014 to 2nd quarter 2017 (in minutes)Time spent with a game console in the U.S. 2014-2017
- Leading sources used to purchase or download video games according to gamers in the United States as of December 2016Leading locations for video game purchases in the U.S. 2016
- Number of paid PC games owned by gamers in the United States as of December 2016Paid PC games possession in the U.S. 2016
- Number of paid home console games owned by gamers in the United States as of December 2016Paid home console games possession in the U.S. 2016
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Further Content: Statistics, Studies, and Topic Pages
Statistics
- Global video game revenues 2011-2019
- Value of the video game market in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2013 and 2018, by sector
- Consumer spending on video games per transaction in the UK 2014, by platform
- Value of the global video game market from 2011 to 2020, by category
- Growth of the global video game industry revenue 2015-2020, by category
- Consumer spending on video games in the UK 2013, by sales channel
- Share of consumer spending on video games in the UK 2013, by sales channel
- Console game market sales revenue in Japan 2009-2016
- EBITDA of THQ Nordic 2014-2017
- Video game market distribution in the United Kingdom (UK) 2016-2017, by sector
- Value of the interactive game market in Australia 2013-2022
- Digital video game sales Australia 2013-2018
- Italy: video games sales volume share 2017, by PEGI rating system
- Italy: video games industry expenditure 2017-2021
- Video game sales Australia 2013-2018
- Gross value added generated by core video games sector in the UK 2013, by segment
- Average spending on video games in Australia Q1 2018 by product type
- Top 20 video games in retail sales in Finland 2015
- Video game accessories revenue in the United Kingdom (UK) 2010-2016
- Video game consumption sources among consumers in India 2018
Studies
- Video games market in the U.S.
- Video games in Denmark
- Video games in Norway
- Video games in Sweden
- Video games in Italy
- Gaming consoles in the United Kingdom (UK)
- Video game industry in Europe
- Video game industry in the United Kingdom (UK)
- Video game industry in Spain
- I videogiochi in Italia nel 2017
- Game consoles
- Sony PlayStation
- Gaming in Asia
- Online gaming in the United Kingdom (UK)
- Mobile games publishers
Statistics on "Video games market in the U.S."
- Value of the global video games market from 2012 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Video game consumer market value worldwide from 2011 to 2020, by distribution type (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Cumulative value of games market mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worldwide from 2010 to 2016 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Customer preferred gaming platforms according to gaming companies worldwide as of August 2016
- Number of active video gamers worldwide from 2014 to 2021 (in millions)
- Number of video gamers worldwide in 2018, by region (in millions)
- Leading gaming markets in North America in 2018, by revenue (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Value of the video game market in the United States from 2011 to 2020 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Total and segment revenue of the U.S. video game industry from 2016 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Retail revenue of the U.S. video game industry from January 2017 to July 2019 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Consumer spending on gaming in the United States from 2010 to 2018, by segment (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Monthly number of game console users in the United States from 2nd quarter 2012 to 2nd quarter 2017 (in millions)
- Digital games industry revenue in North America from 2017 to 2019, by game category (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Gaming services and platform subscription penetration among gamers in the United States as of December 2016
- Gaming revenue of leading public companies worldwide from 2014 to 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Annual revenue of Tencent from 2014 to 2018, by segment (in billion yuan)
- Sony's revenue worldwide by segment fiscal years 2012 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Activision Blizzard's revenue from 2015 to 2018, by platform (in million U.S. dollars)
- Microsoft's revenue from 2012 to 2019 financial years, by segment (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Revenue comparison of Apple, Google, Alphabet, and Microsoft from 2008 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Digital revenue generated by Electronic Arts from fiscal 3rd quarter 2013 to 1st quarter 2020, by platform (in million U.S. dollars)
- Annual online game revenue generated by NetEase Inc. from 2013 to 2016 (in billion yuan)
- Namco Bandai's net sales by segment from FY2015 to FY2019 (in million U.S. dollars)*
- Nintendo's revenue from fiscal 2016 to 2019, by product (in million Japanese yen)
- Gaming brand recognition among gamers in the United States as of December 2016
- Global revenue of the home consoles hardware market from 2014 to 2018 (in billion euros)
- Global revenue of the handheld consoles hardware market from 2014 to 2018 (in billion euros)
- Gaming peripherals market revenue worldwide in 2016, by component (in million U.S. dollars)
- Video game console sales worldwide for products total lifespan as of February 2019 (in million units)
- Share of consumers aware of selected current generation console brands in the United States as of 2017
- Favorite video game devices according to gamers in the United States as of 2019
- Which home consoles do you have?
- How much did you spend on hardware/consoles over the last 12 months?
- Hardware revenue of the U.S. video game industry from January 2017 to July 2019 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Console unit sales of the Nintendo Wii and Wii U from 2007 to 2018 (in million units)
- Unit sales of Sony's PlayStation consoles worldwide from 2011 to 2019 (in millions), by quarter*
- Software revenue of the U.S. video game industry from January 2017 to July 2019 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Genre breakdown of video game sales in the United States in 2018
- All-time best-selling console games based on global unit sales as of February 2019 (in million units)
- Unit sales of the best selling PC games of all time worldwide as of February 2019 (in million units)
- Top selling Nintendo Wii game titles worldwide as of March 2019 (in million units)
- Top selling Nintendo DS game titles worldwide as of March 2019 (in million units)
- Top selling Nintendo 3DS game titles worldwide as of June 2019 (in million units)
- Most played games on Steam in 2018, by peak number of concurrent players (in 1,000s)
- All time unit sales of selected games in Call of Duty franchise worldwide as of February 2019 (in millions)
- All time unit sales of selected games in Fallout franchise worldwide as of February 2019 (in millions)
- All time unit sales of selected games in Grand Theft Auto franchise worldwide as of February 2019 (in millions)
- Frequency of playing video games on any device according to adults in the United States as of April 2017
- Percentage of adults who often and sometimes play video games in the United States as of April 2017, by gender
- Percentage of adults who often and sometimes play video games in the United States as of April 2017, by age group
- Percentage of adults who often and sometimes play video games in the United States as of April 2017, by ethnicity
- Monthly time spent per capita with a game console in the United States from 2nd quarter 2014 to 2nd quarter 2017 (in minutes)
- Leading sources used to purchase or download video games according to gamers in the United States as of December 2016
- Number of paid PC games owned by gamers in the United States as of December 2016
- Number of paid home console games owned by gamers in the United States as of December 2016
- Most played genres of home console games according to gamers in the United States as of December 2016
- How much did you spend on gaming accessories over the last 12 months?'
- Amount spent on gaming merchandise according to gamers in the United States as of December 2016
- Amount spent on in-game purchases according to gamers in the United States as of December 2016
- Global video game turnover between 2011 and 2019* (in billion euros)
- Video game market value in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2013 and 2018, by sector (in million GBP)
- Game purchases: average amount spent per transaction in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2014, by platform (in U.S. dollars)
- Value of the global video game market from 2011 to 2020, by category (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of global video game industry revenue between 2015 and 2020, by category
- Consumer spending on video games in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2013, by sales channel (in million GBP)
- Share of consumer spending on video games in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2013, by sales channel
- Sales revenue of the console video game industry in Japan from 2009 to 2016 (in billion Japanese yen)
- EBITDA of THQ Nordic Group from 2014 to 2017 (in million SEK)
- Distribution of video games industry market value in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2016 to 2017, by sector
- Value of the interactive game market in Australia from 2013 to 2017, with forecasts until 2022 (in billion Australian dollars)
- Sales value of the digital video games retail industry in Australia from 2013 to 2018 (in billion Australian dollars)
- Sales volume share of video games in Italy in 2017, by PEGI rating system*
- Forecast of the video games industry expenditure in Italy from 2017 to 2021 (in million euros)
- Video games retail industry value in Australia from 2013 to 2018 (in billion Australian dollars)
- Gross value added (GVA) generated by the core video games sector in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2013 (in million GBP)
- Average per capita spending on video games in Australia from January to March 2018, by product type (in Australian dollars)
- The top 20 of the most sold video games in retail in Finland in 2015
- Video game accessories revenue at retail in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2010 to 2016 (in million GBP)
- Sources of video game consumption among Indian consumers in 2018
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