Research: in 2025 the gaming market will be $203 billion, and the number of players will be 4 billion

According to a report by Midia Research, the global video game market will grow by 4.6% in 2026, reaching $236.9 billion, and is forecast to grow to $280.1 billion by 2031.

The main driver of growth remains software, with revenues estimated to reach $203.2 billion in 2025, up 4.4% year-on-year. Key growth drivers will be premium releases including Grand Theft Auto 6, Nintendo’s new console launch line-up, and games such as Monster Hunter Wilds and Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Gaming software revenues could reach $237 billion by 2031.

The PC software segment is forecast to overtake other categories by 2031. In 2025, its revenue will be $44.5 billion, up from $41.6 billion a year earlier. Console software revenue is expected to be $47.9 billion in 2025, up from $45.1 billion in 2024. The mobile segment is forecast to grow to $110.9 billion.

Gaming hardware revenue could grow 8.4% in 2025 to $20.6 billion. The main catalyst will be the release of the Switch 2. This will restore the market after the decline in 2024, caused by the end of the original Switch’s life cycle and a change in Xbox’s service-oriented strategy. By 2031, hardware revenue could reach $24.6 billion.

According to Midia analysts, amid the saturation of the market with games-as-services, there will be a shift towards premium projects. This will reduce the share of revenue from in-game purchases to 67% by 2031. Consoles will remain the main choice for premium gaming experiences, occupying 60% of the market, while PC will have a share of 38%.

The number of players worldwide is expected to increase from 3.27 billion in 2025 to 4.02 billion by 2031. New users will come mainly from developing regions such as Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. Improving internet infrastructure in these countries will contribute to further audience growth.

Midia Research analyst Rhys Elliott notes that the industry will face challenging conditions that require developers to be flexible and new approaches. He emphasized that the success of studios such as Nintendo, FromSoftware and Naughty Dog is largely due to the long-term retention of key specialists.

Elliott recommends that companies cut costs, follow less temporary trends, invest more in innovation and audience analysis, and pay more attention to the working conditions of developers. In his opinion, the gaming market will not be able to grow if the industry continues to focus only on the player base.