Global market of video games has reached a historical record in 2025. Total industry revenues are for the first time in history crossed the 200 billion dollar mark.
The market earned as much as 201.6 billion dollars, which represents an annual growth of nine percent. However, we are witnessing constant studio closures and mass layoffs for developers around the world.
Success on PCs and phones, modest growth on consoles
The PC gaming market recorded its strongest annual growth to date. Earnings on the PC platform jumped 12% to $43.6 billion. This success is the result of a large number of quality games, not just one big hit.
Mobile games are still the largest segment with $113.3 billion in revenue. Earnings on phones are growing despite the fact that people are downloading fewer apps than before. Companies successfully make more profits from loyal players.
Newzoo
NewzooThe console market recorded a much more modest growth of less than three percent. This segment reached a value of 44.7 billion dollars. A jump in subscription prices for PlayStation and Xbox services helped the overall financial result. On the other hand, weaker game results and the decline of Nintendo dragged the consoles down.
Regional contrasts and changing habits in microtransactions
In-game purchases saw completely different results on PC and consoles. Microtransactions on PC have grown thanks to the titles Counter-Strike 2 i Roblox. However, consoles saw a decline due to less interest in Fortnite i Call of Duty.
All world regions recorded growth during the past year. The Asia-Pacific region holds almost half of the global market and is making steady progress. Europe achieved an excellent jump of almost 11%. The Middle East and Africa represent the fastest growing market in the world. North America achieved the weakest result with a growth of less than six percent.
Forecast to 2028 and AI impact
Analysts predict that the market will continue to grow at a steady pace in the coming years. It is expected that the total the value of the industry by 2028 will reach 234.4 billion dollars. The main driver of growth in the coming period will be the game Grand Theft Auto VI companies Rockstar.
Newzoo
NewzooHowever, the industry is facing a major challenge due to rising hardware prices. The crisis with memory chips due to artificial intelligence is also raising production costs. This pressure can seriously slow down the development of the next generation of consoles. This primarily refers to the future PlayStation 6 and a Microsoft project Helix.
Why developers continue to lose their jobs en masse
Record earnings in the market cannot save companies that have spent too much money. Many studios over the past years have employed too many people. Their business models are built around costs they can no longer bear. Recently, the Ubisoft Belgrade studio was also closed and allegedly all employees, more than 100 of them, were fired.
The entire gaming industry is actually growing, but the structure of the business is changing dramatically. The crisis affects companies that have become too big, too expensive or too slow. The video game market is becoming much harsher, more discerning and less forgiving of business mistakes. Large investments today are no longer a sure guarantee for creating a successful global hit, he says Newzoo.