Newzoo also forecasts that revenues for this industry will exceed $200 billion by 2023. For comparison, Disney reported a loss of $1.4 billion in the previous quarter, and the entire film industry has lost nearly $10 billion since the beginning of the year due to pandemic containment measures that have also affected other sectors of the entertainment industry, multiple studies have shown.
The largest revenue growth will be in the mobile gaming segment, which has been boosted during the coronavirus pandemic by the closure of many internet cafes and the increasing availability of mobile devices. According to Newzoo analyst Tom Wijman, revenues from mobile game sales in 2020 will reach $77.2 billion, or 13.3 percent higher compared to 2019.
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It is also estimated that out of 2.7 billion gamers, 2.6 billion will play on mobile devices. However, only 38 percent will pay for a mobile game, the research shows.
The only sector in the gaming industry expected to see a revenue loss is browser-based gaming, which is projected to decline by 13.4 percent this year to $3.08 billion.
According to Wijman, revenue growth is typically much slower in the world of PC gaming, as the most popular games have been around for three years or even more than a decade. Additionally, online gaming is experiencing some delays due to Covid-19. Sales of PC games are expected to decline by 4.8 percent this year to $36.9 billion.
– If someone wants to play a specific game, it is more than likely that they will wait a few more months. Of course, if that turns into six months or a year of waiting, the story changes. However, we have not recorded that. We may be seeing a bit more movement in the gray market if games are available in other countries, but even that will be limited to a few big enthusiasts who cannot wait to play a specific game, Wijman said.
However, as he points out, downloaded games on personal computers are a different story.
– Primarily, the market will normalize after the record months of engagement and spending that we are currently seeing. It will be a challenge for companies that produce games to retain some of the newer players, but we expect that some new players will continue to play. The pandemic has certainly accelerated the shift towards digital sales on consoles, Wijman said.
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