The Business of Video Games

The Business of Video Games is a commercial overview report from DFC Intelligence, positioned as a foundational guide to how the global video game industry operates across its full value chain. It is aimed both at experienced professionals assessing new market opportunities and at outsiders evaluating the sector for the first time. The report has reportedly been used by companies as an employee training manual, and portions have been adapted into college textbook material on the business of games.

The current edition comprises a 180-page PDF and a 144-slide PowerPoint deck, totaling more than 300 pages of analysis. It covers all major platforms and geographies, with particular attention to the roles of hardware manufacturers, distributors, and content developers, and to the question of who earns revenue when a consumer buys a game. Trends addressed include eSports, mobile, streaming, virtual reality, NFTs, digital distribution, microtransactions, game genres, and current and upcoming systems. The single-user license costs $4,995 and includes the report, an Excel file, and a one-hour analyst call. Buyers receive three months of updates, reflecting the firm's "living research" approach.

DFC Intelligence, active in video games since the 1990s, differentiates itself through a games-only focus, forecasts it says track real outcomes, and a stated independence from "pay to play" research and web-scraped, template-driven reports. The firm says it uses data mining and AI tools to analyze disparate sources. Its offerings include subscriptions, one-off reports, custom consulting, and expert access. Reports draw only on public information and contain no insider data. DFC no longer sells off-the-shelf game trackers, though it retains custom access to tracking data dating to 2005. Purchases can be credited toward larger packages or subscriptions within 90 days, and multi-report discounts are available, while student discounts are not.