The market grew 9.1% year-over-year, surpassing Newzoo’s initial forecast.
This was the highest growth rate recorded by Newzoo. PC game sales rose 25%, while microtransaction revenue grew 9.1%.
Developers focused on monetizing existing audiences as user-acquisition costs rose.
New releases and subscription services offset a 4.6% decline in microtransactions. Console sales increased 8.1% while microtransactions fell.
Every market grew in 2025. Asia-Pacific reached $95 billion, while the Middle East and Africa grew 15% to $7.7 billion.
The report forecasts a 5.1% CAGR through 2028. Console revenue in 2026 is projected to rise 5.1% to $46.9 billion.
64% of PC gaming time in 2025 was spent on pre-2019 games.
Newzoo bases its estimates on proprietary data collection. This includes sales and subscription metrics across all major channels.
The report demonstrates that the global games market expanded to $201.6 billion in 2025, a 9.1 % year‑over‑year increase that surpassed Newzoo’s initial forecast. Growth was driven by a 12 % rise in the PC segment, reaching $43.6 billion—the highest growth rate recorded by Newzoo—alongside a 10.7 % jump in mobile revenue to $113.3 billion, despite declining download volumes and rising user‑acquisition costs. The console market grew modestly to $44.7 billion (+2.8 %), buoyed by the launch of Nintendo Switch 2 and stronger spending on new releases and subscription services, which grew 10.2 % YoY.
Revenue composition shifted: PC game sales rose 25 %, while console sales increased 8.1 %. Microtransaction revenue on PC grew 9.1 % (notably from Counter‑Strike 2 and Roblox), whereas console microtransactions fell 4.6 % due to underperformance of Fortnite and Call of Duty. Subscription services across PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass contributed a 10.2 % increase.
Regionally, every market grew; Asia‑Pacific led with a 9.9 % rise to $95 billion, while the Middle East and Africa grew 15 % to $7.7 billion, becoming the fastest‑growing region. North America’s growth slowed to 5.7 % ($54 billion). Europe expanded 10.7 % to $36.3 billion, driven by strong PC and mobile performance.
Newzoo projects a 5.1 % CAGR through 2028, reaching $234.4 billion by year‑end 2028. Forecasts account for rising hardware costs, the anticipated impact of GTA VI on console revenue (+5.1 % to $46.9 billion in 2026), and a continued, albeit slower, mobile growth trajectory driven by Chinese publishers. The report bases its estimates on Newzoo’s proprietary data collection, including sales and subscription metrics across physical, digital, and D2C channels.
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