Market power is increasingly concentrated among platform gatekeepers, who now account for eight of the top ten game makers compared to five a decade ago.
The gaming industry is experiencing a 'rent-seeking' shift where platform holder revenue grew 5% to $72 billion in 2023, while independent publisher revenue declined 2% to $125.7 billion.
Investment flows are heavily skewed toward U.S. interests, with $36.9 billion invested in Chinese firms like Tencent and NetEase, compared to only $516 million of Chinese investment in U.S. gaming firms.
ByteDance’s attempt to enter the gaming market failed to gain traction, as its gaming division generated only $1 billion in 2023 despite a $5 billion investment, representing less than 1% of the company's total revenue.
Legislative efforts to ban TikTok may inadvertently strengthen the market dominance of existing American platform incumbents rather than mitigating foreign influence or protecting consumer interests.
That's the gist.
Dive into the full report for the data, charts, and sources behind these takeaways.
Read the full report