Gaming industry reports 2025: a turn from growth to depth
In recent months, two major reports have come out about the video game industry: Newzoo released its Global Games Market Report for 2025, and ESA (Entertainment Software Association) published Power of Play. Although they seemingly deal with the same topic, these reports look at the industry from two perspectives: through an economic and a cultural overview of the state of our industry in 2025.
I would like to mention that these two studies use different methodologies, and the conclusions should be viewed with greater or lesser caution.
As wide as the range of us who play video games is, so is the methodology used by Newzoo in its research. Their data says that three out of five people (61.5%) on the planet play video games — but those are (1) people who have access to the Internet and (2) people who have played games at least once in the last six months.
The ESA is more precise with its methodology, with over 24,000 respondents who spend at least one hour a week playing video games.
An economic perspective on the video game industry
Through the prism of economics, the industry has matured and stagnated. Total revenue continues to grow slowly, as does the total number of players — but not the percentage of players compared to the total number of people on the planet who are online. This means that it is to be expected that the main focus (as it has been) of the big companies will be to retain and deeply monetize existing players who are willing to spend money on video games.
Of the 3.6 billion players, the Newzoo report says that there are 1.6 billion of us who spend money in video games, and that number is growing every year. The global average is $120 — roughly the equivalent of a Duolingo subscription and one battle pass per year.
By far the largest part of the population (three billion) plays on a universally available platform: namely, mobile devices. PC is the gaming platform for over 900 million people, and consoles for almost 650 million.
For the most part, the numbers Newzoo publishes are used as buzzwords, which they truly are: the industry is expected to generate $189 billion in revenue in 2025, with $103 billion coming from phones and tablets, $46 billion from consoles and $40 billion from PCs. To put it in perspective: Serbia’s GDP was (only) $89 billion in 2024. Almost half of the industry’s revenue ($88 billion) comes from the APAC region (Asia-Pacific), where, by far, the largest markets are China and Japan.
In PC games, shooters, RPGs and adventure games account for half of the revenue, while on consoles, sports still come first — which is understandable given that joysticks are superior for sports games and inadequate for shooters.
On mobile, RPGs, strategy and puzzle games dominate — making them a bigger source of revenue than the entire PC gaming market. This is where the competition is the biggest, and discoverability is the most difficult job when it comes to player acquisition, given the growing number of games that are released both on the App Store and Google Play.
Although the industry continues to grow on paper, few have not felt the severe turbulence of the past years — many game devs have lost their jobs, publishers have become extremely conservative in choosing the games they are willing to invest in and it is increasingly difficult to find financing.
Along with the increased risk of failure of new, large and expensive AAA projects, the expectations of players have also increased. For many large publishers, remakes and remasters of well-known games and IPs, such as Metal Gear Solid and Oblivion, have become a logical solution. The upside of this trend is that publishers further reduce cost and risk by outsourcing game development (both MGS and Oblivion were worked on by Virtuous), potentially opening the door to experienced, quality co-dev teams from the region.
Knowing the market, preparing the ground and carefully planning when the game will be released is an extremely important step, both for solo developers and for studios working with publishers. This is where we come to one of the more interesting findings of the Newzoo report: games released in February-May perform 34% better than games released in August-November. For studios, this means that a good game launch strategy is extremely important — along with a good product, of course.
Video game culture
While the Newzoo report provides insights into the economic side of the market, Power of Play illuminates another piece of the puzzle — who plays games, how and why.
Video games are no longer a domain dominated by children and teenagers, as the average gamer is 41 years old (reminder: the survey included people who play at least an hour a week). Almost half of the players are female: 48% according to ESA data. Mobile devices are the preferred platform for both sexes, with more than half of men preferring to play on PC and consoles. The top three reasons people play (regardless of gender) are fun, relaxation and stress reduction, but also as a form of mental stimulation.
The older crowd (55+) prefers puzzle and skill-based games, while the younger (<35) covers a wider range of games, among which the most popular are action, fighting, puzzle and shooting games. Younger players are far more willing to play multiplayer games, both online and live. As many as 73% of respondents under the age of 35 indicated that video games help them feel less alone by connecting them with others and that they have had positive experiences with people they met through video games.
This can be seen from the fact that 80% of people play with friends from (real) life at least once a month, and even 70% with their children, 66% with family members — and even more than 30% with grandparents, which means that video games are becoming an important intergenerational activity.
In addition to mental stimulation and stress reduction, Power of Play highlights additional benefits recognized by gamers around the world: 78% say that games create a space with experiences that are accessible to a diverse audience, 73% that video games make them happier, 71% that games have allowed them to meet new friends and 62% that video games have helped them through difficult times in their lives.
The majority of players see significant benefits from video games when it comes to developing important skills: most respondents believe that games strengthen creativity (77%), problem-solving skills (76%), teamwork and cooperation, as well as cognitive skills (74%). Players also believe that games help develop communication skills (67%), conflict resolution and language and STEM skills (64%). It is also interesting that a significant number of respondents believe that video games contribute to strengthening soft skills such as empathy (57%) and sensitivity to other cultures (56%) — which shows that games create space for both cognitive challenges and understanding others.
An industry that has grown up
The video game industry is facing its own saturation. The market is stabilizing, maturing and publishers are turning their focus to keeping players as long as possible and deepening their experiences — as well as monetization opportunities. For developers, this means a different kind of market than the one they are used to. Instead of a constant search for new users, they are now looking for studios that can build long-term relationships with audiences and partners. Quality, consistency and maintaining trust become more important than short-term successes.
Today, video games are a space that connects generations: parents and children play together, grandparents become part of virtual worlds in which their grandchildren are and friendships are created or strengthened through joint play. While global gaming enters a phase of calm growth, its role in society is deepening. Games are no longer a novelty or an escape: they have become part of everyday life, a way of communication, learning and spending time together.
In this sense, the industry and the audience share the same path: both have stopped growing in breadth, but continue to grow in maturity.