172 Key Video Games Industry Statistics: 2024 Market Share Analysis & Data

The video game industry stands as one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. With billions of active gamers—spanning different generations—experts predict a steady growth in the next five years. Moreover, as application development software tools had become more accessible, the industry expects an influx of new entrants.

Also, this led to the rise of quality indie games with cult followings. And riding on the wave of crowdsourcing and active gaming community sites, user engagement is at an all-time high. Now, gamers do not only have a voice but also a hand in creating and shaping their favorite game franchises.

In this article, we are going to look into key video games industry statistics, through key statistics and data we gathered from other industry experts. In this way, you will have a better view of the industry and the gaming culture that comes with it.

Video Games Industry Statistics
Digital Game Distribution Industry
PC Gaming Industry Statistics
Console Gaming Statistics
Mobile Gaming Statistics
XR: VR/AR Gaming Statistics
Video Game Streaming Statistics
eSports Statistics
Most Popular Gaming Genres

Video Games Industry Statistics

The video game industry is still growing. Even so, it is already larger than the movie and music industries combined. Thus, many companies have been keen on making their way into the industry. Tech giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook have all put their hats in.

The value of the video games industry in the US was $60.4 billion. (IBISWorld, 2020)
The average growth of the industry from 2015-2020 is 14.7%. (IBISWorld, 2020)
Consumer spending on gaming content in the US in the Q2 of 2020 reached $1.02 billion for content. That’s a 50.13% growth from the previous year’s Q2 figure of $797 million. (NPD Group, 2020)
Consumer spending on gaming hardware in Q2 of 2020 in the US reached $848 million. That’s a 57.04% growth from Q2 of 2019’s $540 million. (NPD Group, 2020)
Consumer spending on gaming accessories in Q2 of 2020 in the US reached $584 million. That’s a 27.98% growth from Q2 of 2019’s 389 million. (NPD Group, 2020)

Worldwide Gamers Statistics

There are around 2.7 billion gamers in the world in 2020. (Wijman, 2020)
Gamers make up 26% of the world’s population. (Beattie, 2021)
The Asia Pacific region has the most number of gamers in the world with 1.4 billion. (Wijman, 2020)
This is followed by Europe at a far second with 386 million and third by the Middle East and Africa regions with 377 million. (Wijman, 2020)
Latin America has approximately 266 million gamers and North America has 210 million gamers. (Wijman, 2020)
An estimated 56% of Millennials, 51% of Gen Xers, and 51% of Gen Alpha + Z (ages 10 to 22) were active gamers in 2020. (Hordijk, 2020)

Gaming Usage Behavior Statistics

Many think that only younger people are into games. In some ways, this is true. According to recent Generation Z statistics, games are one of the most common things that Gen Zers purchase online. However, because of the wide availability of games—especially mobile games—older generations like the Boomers are also in it.

The worldwide games market revenue in 2020 by segment shows that Mobile is leading the pack with $85.3 billion in revenue. This is followed by Console gaming with $51.2 billion. The worldwide PC gaming revenue stood at $37.4 billion. (Wijman, 2020)
In another report, 85% of gamers use smartphones, 66% use PC/laptop, 43% use gaming consoles, 30% use tablets, 21% use handheld gaming devices, and 8% use media streaming devices. (GWI, 2020)
Internet uses, in general, follow the same trend—using smartphones the most. About 69% of internet users use smartphone devices for gaming, 41% use PC/laptop, 25% use game consoles, 21% use tablets, 12% use handheld gaming devices, and 6% use media streaming devices. (GWI, 2020)
A whopping 81% of internet users claim that they play on at least one device each month. (GWI, 2020)
Gaming is so popular that 58% of people aged 55-64 game on any device and 91% of people aged 16-24 do the same. (GWI, 2020)
Around 48% of gamers claim that they play video games to escape from everyday life. Only 26% claimed that they do this to explore worlds and storylines. (Newzoo, 2020)

Top Gaming Countries

The top country when it comes to gaming revenue is China registering an estimated revenue of $40.85 in 2020. (Newzoo, 2020)
The US posted an estimated revenue of $36.92 million, which is the second-largest game revenue in 2020 for a country. (Newzoo, 2020)
Japan ($18.6m), South Korea ($4.56m), and Germany ($5.96m) ranked 3rd, 4th, and 5th among countries when it comes to game revenue. (Newzoo, 2020)
United Kingdom ($5.51m), France ($3.98m), Canada ($3.05m), Italy ($2.66m), and Spain ($2.65m) round out the top ten. (Newzoo, 2020)

The Top US Video Game Cities

And, within the US, Seattle can be considered the game capital in the country with 400 interactive companies in Washinton state. (The Business Journals, 2020)
San Diego ranks 2nd and is then followed by New York at 3rd. The ranking used various metrics, including video game and electronic stores per capita, number of game meet-ups, and many more. (The Business Journals, 2020)

Gaming in the Midst of COVID-19

Around 32% of gamers spent on physical or digital copies of games during the quarantine. (RENTCafe, 2020)
During the lockdown, people—young and old—spent 110 hours on average gaming. (Jeffrey, 2021)
Gamers spend around 6.8 to 8.7 hours a week gaming during the pandemic. This is significantly higher compared to the 4.5 to 5.4 hours before the quarantine protocols. (Jeffrey, 2021)
The most popular type of game during the stay-at-home orders was first-person shooters or FPS—taking a 17% share of players. (RENTCafe, 2020)
This is followed by Casual Single Player (16%), Simulation (14%), RPGs (13%), and Battle Royale (10%), making the top five. (RENTCafe, 2020)
Ranked sixth in the Sports Simulation genre with a share of 9%. Casual Multi-Player (8%), MOBA (6%), and MMORPG (6%) round out the top nine gaming categories. (RENTCafe, 2020)

Games Spending Statistics

Worldwide video game sales saw an increase of 63% during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. (RENTCafe, 2020)
The top five video game-related sales on Amazon in 2020 are (1) $100 PlayStation Store Gift Card, (2) $10 Xbox Gift Card, (3) $10 Nintendo eShop Gift Card, (4) $10 PlayStation Store Gift Card, and (5) Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Incidentally, Animal Crossing has been used as a shared activity for online daters. (Amazon, 2020)
A survey found that 78% of people aged 18-25 spent money on gaming during the quarantine. (RENTCafe, 2020)
For people aged 26-30, about 81% spent money on gaming during the same period. (RENTCafe, 2020)
Around 75% of people aged 31-40 spent money on gaming during the quarantine. (RENTCafe, 2020)
For people aged 41-55, around 59% spent money on gaming during the lockdown. (RENTCafe, 2020)
A considerably significant 32% of people 56 years old and above, spent money on gaming during the quarantine. (RENTCafe, 2020)
The total video game sales in April 2020 grew 73% from the year before—from $846m to $1.46b. (RENTCafe, 2020)
However, around 28% of gamers reported that they did not spend money on gaming during the quarantine. (RENTCafe, 2020)

Game-Related Spending Statistics

More or less 15% of gamers spent on in-game purchases, 14% spent on additional game content, and 11% spent money on hardware and accessories. (RENTCafe, 2020)
Video game hardware sales also skyrocketed by 163% from $160m in 2019 to $420m in 2020. (RENTCafe, 2020)
Moreover, video game software sales have also undergone an increase of 55% from $428m in 2019 to $662m in 2020. (RENTCafe, 2020)
The sales of video game accessories and game cards shot up by 49% as well, from $258m in 2019 to $384m in 2020. (RENTCafe, 2020)

Source: Newzoo, 2020

Digital Game Distribution Industry Statistics

Game distribution back in the 90s and early 2000s was dominated by brick-and-mortar stores. Today, digital platforms take the lion’s share. Downloading from the internet is more convenient than physically going to stores and picking up titles. Moreover, as the COVID-19 pandemic made physically going to stores unsafe, gamers just download.

Get to know the game distribution industry during COVID-stricken 2020 through these key statistics.

Digital downloads were popular in 2020, this is especially during the first lockdowns. Across 50 markets, 2.74 million games were downloaded. This is a 52.9% increase over the previous week. (GamesIndustry.biz, 2020)
Digital downloads also increased during the lockdown. In fact, in France alone, downloads increased by more than 180%. (GamesIndustry.biz, 2020)
In 2020, the mobile digital games segment posted a $73.8b revenue. This tops the revenues generated by other segments by $21.1b. All other segments, including free-to-play PC digital downloads, amounted to $52.7b. (SuperData Research, 2021)
The free-to-play PC segment comes secound at $22.7b and is followed by Premium Console ($17.8b), Premium PC ($6.7b), Pay-to-Play PC ($3.7b), and Free-to-Play Console ($1.8b). (SuperData Research, 2021)
Honor of Kings by Tencent, a MOBA game, tops the free-to-play titles in 2020, posting a revenue of $2.45b. (SuperData Research, 2021)
PCMag’s top eight picks for the best video game stores include online platforms like Steam, GOG.com, and Epic Games. (PCMag, 2020)
The list also includes Xbox for Microsoft gamers and Humble Bundle. (PCMag, 2020)

Among the top digital game distributors, Steam is by far the most popular. Its development started in 2002, but now it carries not just game titles but also other software. Moreover, it provides a platform for independent game developers as well. This provides a channel where both developers and gamers can connect.

Steam Users Statistics

It was reported that Steam had 120 million monthly active users in 2020. (Steam, 2020)
Also, the platform had 62.6 million daily active users in 2020, with a peak of 24.8 million concurrent players. (Steam, 2020)
In 2020, registered 2.6 million new purchasers every month and 21.4% more games purchased in the previous year. (Steam, 2020)
Moreover, the leading distribution channel saw a 50.7% increase in hours played in 2020 compared to 2019. (Steam, 2020)
By February 2021, Steam reached a peak of 26.4 million users. This is a 38.2% increase from the 19.1 million posted in February of last year. (Steam, 2020)
As of March 2021, the number of Steam users in the US used 80.2PB. Chinese gamers used more reaching 90.7 PB. (Steam, 2021)
Asia is the region with the least bandwidth use at 5.7 Tbps. (Steam, 2021)
China leads when it comes to traffic, accounting for 19% overall. The US follows with a share of 16.8%. (Steam, 2021)
The language most used on Steam is English (38.8%) and is followed by Simplified Chinese (19.8%). Other popular languages used include Russian (11.3%), Spanish from Spain (5.25%), and German (3.87%). (Steam, 2021)

Top Steam Games and Developers

When it comes to ratings, as of this writing, Portal 2 is the highest-rated game on Steam in early 2021 with 97.60%. (Steam, 2021)
This is followed by Factorio (97.44%), Hades (97.43%), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (97.10%), and Terraria (97.09%). (Steam, 2021)
The most played game on Steam is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with a peak of logged-on players of 1.19 million. The most hours played were more than 537.97 million. (Steam Charts, 2021)
Valve is the best game developer on Steam (also the owner of the platform) with a rating of 8.5, and this is followed by Supergiant Games with a rating of 8.44. (Steam, 2021)
There are joined in the top five by Klei Developer (8.4), The Behemoth (8.36), and Free Lives (8.35). (Steam, 2021)
Steam takes a 30% cut of the profit from sales. However, developers can take 75% of the revenue if their games reach $10 million and 80% of it when the figure is more than $10 million. (Yin-Poole, 2021)

Source: Steam Charts

Epic Games Statistics

Another popular digital distribution platform is Epic Games. Based in Cary, North Carolina, Epic Games is best known for the Unreal Engine. This powers many games, including internally-developed ones like Fortnite and Gears of War—very popular in their own rights. In 2014, Unreal Engine was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the most successful video game engine in the world.

Epic Games has 160 million Epic Games Stores PC users. (Yin-Poole, 2021)
The marketplace also has 31.3 million daily active users. This figure is up 192%. (Yin-Poole, 2021)
Peak concurrent users in the platform reached 13 million in 2021. This is an 85.71% growth from 24.8 million in 2020. (Yin-Poole, 2021)
PC customers have spent over $700 million in 2020. Third-party games accounted for 265 million with 37% of the share. (Yin-Poole, 2021)
In 2020, the Epic Games community played 70% more hours. (Yin-Poole, 2021)
The total playing time in 2020 was 5.70 billion hours. This is a 70.14% growth compared to the 3.35 billion hours in 2019. (Yin-Poole, 2021)
Epic Games made 103 games free in 2020. This is for the value of $2,407. (Yin-Poole, 2021)
Over 749 million free games were claimed by users in 2020. (Yin-Poole, 2021)
The average score for all free games on the platform is 77%. (Epic Games, 2021)
Epic Games provides a higher cut to publishers and developers than Steam. It gives 88% of the revenue and uses 12% to cover operating costs and for profit. (Yin-Poole, 2021)

PC Gaming Statistics

The PC is the most versatile gaming machine available. You can plug in console controllers, racing rigs, upgrade memory, change hardware, and many more. This is why it is the top choice of many gamers out there.

General PC Gaming Market Statistics

There are about 1.3 billion PC gamers across the world. (Newzoo, 2020)
About 20% of US adults in 2020 played video games on their desktops or laptops. Around 13% claim that they play once a week, and another 13% claim that they play once a month or less. A whopping 54% say that they never play games on any platform. (Vorhaus Advisors, 2020)
Among the consumer electronics segments, the computing segment reached an estimated average revenue per capita of $112.7 million in 2020. This is only second to the telephony segment with $172.2 million. (Statista, n.d.)
Also, because of the lockdown measures, PC gaming growth estimates in 2020 peg it to have increased by 4.8% YoY. The final figure was approximated to be $36.9 billion in 2020. (Newzoo, 2020)
Electronic Arts (EA), a premiere game company, managed to have net bookings of $272 million in the Q4 of 2020 alone. This, however, is $13 million lower than its revenue in the previous quarter of the same year. (EA, 2021)
By Q3 of 2021, EA projects that PC net bookings will reach $1.81 billion. (EA, 2021)

PC Gamers by Generation

About 51% of Gen Zers and Gen Alpha (aged 10-22) were active PC gamers in 2020. (Newzoo, 2020)
It was found that 56% of Millennials were active PC gamers in 2020. (Newzoo, 2020)
More or less 51% of Gen X (aged 39-50) were active PC gamers in 2020. (Newzoo, 2020)

Hardware Sales and Revenue Growth

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the PC gaming hardware market also witnessed growth. It was estimated to have grown to $3.6 billion in 2020. This is a 10.3% growth from the previous year. (Palumbo, 2020)
The distribution of PC gaming hardware worldwide, coming into the pandemic, are what follows: branded systems (65%), DIY (19%), and Peripherals (16%). (Pollak, 2020)
High-end PC gaming hardware took the lion’s share at 46% with $18.5 billion. (Palumbo, 2020)
Mid-range PC gaming hardware took a decent 34% share of the market at $13.4 billion, while entry-level PC gaming hardware sits at $7.34 billion at a 19% share. (Palumbo, 2020)
The entry-level segment is also poised for a 21.7% growth. (Palumbo, 2020)
Also, because of sim racing events being broadcasted on TV, 2020 saw an increase in racing sim PC builds. A good chunk of the purchases came from new sim racers spending about $2,000-$5,000 on their systems, including sim racing gear, audio, accessories, and seats. (Palumbo, 2020)
Intel still dominates the x86 CPU market. Entering into 2019, it owned a whopping 76.8% of the market compared to 23.1% of AMD. However, the gap has been closing since Q3 of 2019. In Q4 of 2020, Intel still leads with 61.4% of the market but AMD is hot on its tail, taking up a record 38.6%. This is its biggest share historically since its 27.7% posting in Q1 of 2012. (PassMark, 2021)

Console Gaming Statistics

Today, we are on our eight-generation consoles. Far from the 8-bit graphics and sounds, today’s powerful machines can support up to 8K resolution. Moreover, they support 3D audio for more immersive gaming. The PS5 also has adaptive triggers that allow users to feel tension or kickbacks. In this section, you will get to know the console gaming market through these key statistics.

About 11% of US adults in 2020 play on their consoles every day. A good 9% of US adults claim that they play once a week while 12% say that they play once a month or less. Most US adults, at 68% state that they never play on consoles. (Vorhaus Advisors, 2020)
PlayStation 4 sales have reached more than 114.19 million units worldwide in November 2020. This is a 23.36% growth from January 2019. (D’Angelo, 2020)
PlayStation retains its leadership in the worldwide console market. However, Xbox has been closing in more than ever. In 2020, PlayStation took 57.54% of the market while Xbox took 42.15% of the market. (StatCounter, 2021)
At 42.15% worldwide share, this is the biggest share for Xbox historically since 2013 with only 0.84% of the market. (StatCounter, 2021)
In 2020, Nintendo with its Wii and Switch platforms only owned 0.31% of the market. (StatCounter, 2021)
In January 2021, Nintendo Switch sales reached 78.63 million. This is a 5142% growth from its 1.5 million sales in March of 2017. (VGChartz, 2020)
The region with the most unit sales of Nintendo Switch as of September 2020 was North America with 23.56 million units sold. This is followed by Europe (16.9m) and Japan (15.08m). The rest of the world accounted for 8.49 million of units sold. (VGChartz, 2020)

Mobile Gaming Statistics

Since the launch of mobile apps in 2008, mobile games have quickly become popular. With more archaic predecessors like Snake and Tetris on phones, the gameplay of today’s games is a far cry from their origins. Now, with improved graphics capacity, controls, and features, mobile gaming is more popular than ever. In fact, it is more popular than PC and console gaming combined. This is thanks to the convenience and affordability of mobile devices and apps.

In fact, in 2020 alone, the number of mobile app downloads reached a whopping 218 billion.

In 2020, the worldwide smartphone market had an estimated value of $714.96 billion. By 2025, it is expected to reach $1.35 trillion with a CAGR of 11.2%. (Mordor Intelligence, 2021)
Around 27% of smartphone owners claim that they play games on their devices daily. Around 12% say that they game once a week and another 12% claim that they only play once a month or less. The rest, of the 49% say that they never play games on their smartphones. (Vorhaus Advisors, 2020)
In 2020, the revenue from mobile gaming is more than 51% of the total industry revenue for the whole year. (Wallach, 2020)
The revenue of mobile gaming reached $85 billion, eclipsing the revenue from PC and consoles at $40 billion and $33 billion, respectively. That is around a difference of $12 billion. (Wallach, 2020)
It was also projected that mobile gaming will become 3.1x larger than console gaming and 2.8x larger than PC gaming. (Taylor, 2020)
The, more or less, unexpected shift to mobile gaming since iOS and Playstore launched in 2008, brought major companies to acquire other organizations to improve their footing in the industry. In 2020, this includes three massive deals. One of them is Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMaxMedia for $7.5 billion. (Wallach, 20200

COVID-19 and Mobile Games

Because of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the average weekly mobile game installs reached 1.2 billion. (Taylor, 2020)
Users, in 2020, downloaded 35% more games in March compared to January. (Taylor, 2020)
Mobile games accounted for 70% of user spending. This is both on Android and iOS. (Taylor, 2020)
Consumer spending on game events has more than doubled to $53 billion in 2020. (App Annie, 2021)
Mobile game spending on iOS and Android increased by 1.7% YoY. (Taylor, 2020)
However, games only account for 40% of total downloads on both the iOS and Android platforms. (Taylor, 2020)
In 2019, 222 billion hours were spent by users playing mobile games. In 2020, this increased by 35% to a total of 296 billion hours. (App Annie, 2021)

Games That Dominate

When it comes to downloads, Casual games dominate the market with 78%. Core and Casino games sit at 20% and 2%, respectively. (App Annie, 2021)
However, when it comes to consumer spending, Core games gets the bigger share of the pie with 66%. Casual games only get a 23% share and Casino games get the rest of the 11%. (App Annie, 2021)
For time spent, Core games get the most share with 55%. Casual games get a considerable 43% of playing time while Casino games only sit at 2%. (App Annie, 2021)
The Top 5 Casual games by downloads in 2020 are (1) Among Us, (2) Subway Surfers, (3) Gardenscapes – New Acres, (4) Hunter Assassin, and (5) Brain Out. (App Annie, 2021)
The Top 5 Core games by consumer spend are (1) Honour of Kings, (2) Pokemon Go, (3) Monster Strike, (4) Game for Peace, and (5) PUBG Mobile. (App Annie, 2021)

Mobile Gaming Industry Projections

An estimated $120 billion will be spent on mobile games in 2021. This is 20% up from the previous year. (App Annie, 2021)
Spending on mobile games will likely be 50% higher than PC, Mac, consoles, and handheld gaming segments combined. (App Annie, 2021)

The latest mobile app trends also show that mobile gaming is poised for unprecedented technological growth. New technologies such as 5G, IoT, wearables, and AI will impact how apps work. And, just like other technologies before, they will likely trickle down to mobile games. Prepare for exciting developments in the next five to 10 years.

XR: VR/AR Gaming Statistics

The term “virtual reality” first appeared in the mid-1980s (The Franklin Institute, 2021). However, the idea of accessing a virtual world has been around since 1956 with the Sensorama, an immersive multi-sensory experiential machine. Also, it can even be argued that the ideas used to build up to this can be traced back to the 1800s. Since then, technology has improved by leaps and bounds, bringing us to the edge of what virtual reality experience can be, especially for gaming. The same thing goes for augmented reality. Both of these technologies can be bundled into what is now called XR or extended reality.

General XR Statistics

The XR (AR and VR) market size will likely reach a total value of $30.7 billion in 2021. Experts predict that the value will skyrocket to $296.9 billion by the end of 2024. (Boston Consulting Group, 2021)
The medium with the highest VR/AR usage rate is social media with 47%. Trailing closely behind is video games at 40%. These are followed by live streaming (32%), movies and entertainment (31%), advertising (28%), and music (28%). (Perkins Coie, 2020)

VR Gaming Statistics

VR gaming revenue in 2019 was valued at $800,000. In 2020, it reached around $1.1 billion. By 2024, the figure is expected to reach, more or less, $2.4 billion. (PwC, 2020)
Gaming possesses the biggest share when it comes to VR content with a value of $1.2 billion in 2020. By the end of 2021, the figure is likely to reach $1.4 billion. (PwC, 2020)
The Oculus Rift S headset is the most popular among Steam gamers, as of January 2021, with a 25.92% share. This is followed by Oculus Quest (16.48%), HTC Vive (16.27%), Valve Index HMD (16.13%), and Oculus Rift (9.31%). (Steam, 2021)
As of January 2021, Steam had 61 VR games available. (Steam, 2021)
In 2020, revenue from PC VR gaming was estimated to have reached $189 million, posting a CAGR of 119%. (SuperData Research, 2020)
The top-selling VR headsets in Q4 of 2020 were Oculus Quest 2 (1.09m), PlayStation VR (125k), Valve Index (61k), and Oculus Rift/Rift S (55k). (SuperData Research, 2021)

AR Gaming Statistics

Interest in AR, since before the pandemic, has been high. This is even true for non-gamers that account for 23% of consumers. Of these, 35% expressed interest in AR. (Ericsson, 2019)
Pokemon Go is the most popular AR game around. Its lifetime revenue is estimated to be at $4.2 billion. (ARtilerry Intelligence, 2020)
The total AR gaming industry was estimated to reach $3 billion in 2020, even with the pandemic considered. (Cision, 2020)
Mobile AR customer spending has reached $1.3 billion in 2020. Most of which came from in-app purchases. By 2024, the figure is expected to skyrocket to $4.1 billion. (ARtillery Intelligence, 2020)
From 2020 to 2027, the global AR gaming market size is projected to reach $33.5 billion with a CAGR of 41.3%. (Cision, 2020)

XR technology is mostly associated with gaming. However, it is good to note that they have many applications. As the latest marketing trends attest, other segments interested include the public sector (12.7%). But, of course, the consumer segment, including gaming, accounts for the most share at 53%.

Source: BCG, 2021

Video Game Streaming Statistics

Video games have become a spectacle. Today, both casual viewers and hardcore gamers watch live video game streamings (and even recorded ones). In fact, this has been one of the fastest-growing markets in recent history. It does not only produce revenue streams but also celebrities and influential figures. Get to know the market through these statistics.

The number of hours streamed in just the first quarter of 2020 was 4.9 billion. (Stream Hatchet, 2020)
In the same period, Twitch is the streaming platform leader with a 65% share of the market. (Stream Hatchet, 2020)
Twitch is followed by YouTube with 22%. Facebook made an entrance in 2020, quickly taking 11% of the market. (Stream Hatchet, 2020)
Facebook registered the fastest growth at 900% compared to the previous year. (Stream Hatchet, 2020)
In Q1 of 2020 alone, gaming audiences increased by 70%. On February 24, 2020, weekly average viewers were only 2.3 million. Come April 26, average viewers reached 3.6 million. (Stream Hatchet, 2020)
By Q4 of 2020, Twitch recorded 5.43 billion hours viewed on the platform. YouTube had 1.92 million and Facebook had 901,000. (May, 2021)

Twitch Streaming Statistics

Twitch is by far the top video game streaming site when it comes to popularity. It has registered millions of concurrent views with video game streams appealing to a wide variety of people of different ages.

In January 2019, the average number of concurrent viewers on Twitch was 1.27 million. Come February 2021, the number reached 2.94 million. (Iqbal, 2021)
In January 2021, max Twitch viewers reached 6.57 million. Average concurrent viewers were $2.91 million. (TwitchTracker, 2021)
The top channel when it comes to all-time views is fextralife with 1.36 billion total views. Riot games comes second with 1.26 billion. This is followed by ShadbaseMurderTV (719,000), ESL-CSGO (573), and Ninja (529). (Iqbal, 2021)
The top five games on Twitch when it comes to the share of channels broadcasting are Fortnite (8.5%), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (5.8%), Apex Legends (4.8%), Call of Duty: Warzone (4.3%), and League of Legends (4.3%). (Iqbal, 2021)
People aged 16-24 account for 41% of Twitch users. This is the biggest share among age groups. (Iqbal, 2021)
Users aged 25-34 account for 32% of all Twitch users. (Iqbal, 2021)
These are followed by people aged 35-44 with 17% share, people aged 45-54 with 7% share, and people aged 55-64 with 3% share. (Iqbal, 2021)
Around 65% of Twitch users are male and 35% are female. (Iqbal, 2021)

eSports Statistics

Gaming is not just a spectacle. It is a spectator sport. Esports was once a fringe scene. Today, it is as mainstream as basketball and football. And, like other mainstream sports, it is also making millions of dollars. Maybe, just maybe, it can overtake other spectator sports when it comes to revenue in the next 15 years.

Even before the pandemic, esports was poised to grow at a CAGR of 18.3% from 2018 to 2023 to a figure of almost $1.8 billion. (Fahey, 2020)
However, the growth was slower. In 2020, the industry revenue dipped to $947.1 million. That’s more than a $10 million drop from the previous year’s $957.5 million. (Newzoo, 2021)
For 2021, experts predict that esports revenue will increase with a 14% YoY growth to $1.084 million. (Newzoo, 2021)
And, the biggest avenue for this growth comes from sponsorship, which is poised to reach $641 million with a 11.6% YoY. (Newzoo, 2021)
This is followed by media rights ($192.6M), publisher fees ($126.6M), merchandise and tickets ($66.6M), digital ($32.3M), and streaming ($25.1M). (Newzoo, 2021)
The avenues with the biggest growth are digital with a YoY growth of 50.4% and streaming with 25.7%. (Newzoo, 2021)
In 2020, esports audience grew to $435.9 million. With occasional viewers (220.5 million outnumbering esports enthusiasts (215.4M). (Newzoo, 2021)
By 2021, experts predict that the overall worldwide number will reach 474 million with an 8.5% YoY growth. (Newzoo, 2021)
Also, in the same year, occasional viewers (240M) will still outnumber esports enthusiasts (234M). (Newzoo, 2021)
By the end of 2024, projections show that the worldwide audience will reach 577.2 million with a 7% CAGR from 2019 to 2024. That’s an increase of 179.4 million from the base year’s figure. (Newzoo, 2021)
Moreover, in 2024, occasional viewers (291.6M) will still outnumber esports enthusiasts (285.7M). (Newzoo, 2021)

Esports Competition Statistics

The US leads the esports market when it comes to having the most active esports competition players with 4,334 in 2020. (Esports Earnings, 2021)
This is followed by Germany (973), South Korea (890), Brazil (852), and France (841) for the top five. China (817), Russia (794), UK (691), Canada (575), and Thailand (517) round out the top ten. (Esports Earnings, 2021)
The total prize money worldwide for the year reached over $115 million. (Esports Earnings, 2021)
There were a total of 4,180 tournaments held worldwide with 22,754 active players joining. (Esports Earnings, 2021)
CS: GO was the top game in 2020 when it comes to total prize money with a figure of more than $15.8 million. (Esports Earnings, 2020)
This is followed by Arena of Valor ($9.5M), DOTA 2 ($9.3M), Fortnite ($8.1M), and League of Legends ($8.1M). (Esports Earnings, 2020)
Sixth on the list was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ($6.2M), PUBG Mobile ($6.1M), Overwatch ($5M), PUBG ($5M), and Rainbox Six Siege ($5M). (Esports Earnings, 2021)

Top Esports Teams and Players

Players earn a mean earning of $5,073.49. The median earnings per player during the year was $614. (EsportsEarnings, 2021)
The top team when it comes to earnings was Turnso Gaming with $2.24 million in winnings at a 100% rate for three tournaments for Arena of Valor. (Esports Earnings, 2021)
Dallas Empire comes second with a 100% win rate in 12 tournaments for Call of Duty. They bagged a total of $1.86 million. (Esports Earnings, 2021)
The third is Team Liquid, a diverse franchise with a legion of players in its roster, joining 229 tournaments in 2020, winning north of $1.6 million during the year. Total overall earnings sit at more than $36.3 million from 1,923 tournaments. (Esports Earnings, 2021)
Surprisingly, the top player when it comes to earning is Magnus Carlsen with more than $510.58 thousand across 18 tournaments with a win rate of 90.31%. (Esports Earnings, 2021)
Among the top 10 players, five came from China earning a total of $2.42 million for the entire year. They are tied in second (playing as a team) earning $484.86 thousand each. (Esports Earnings, 2021)

Source: e-Sports Earnings, 2021

Most Popular Gaming Genres

The gaming industry is vast and diverse, with different genres capturing the interests of various player demographics. In 2024, specific genres have dominated the gaming landscape due to evolving technology, gameplay innovations, and shifting player preferences. Here’s a look at some of the top genres that are leading the charge:

Action/Adventure: Action/adventure games, which blend story-driven narratives with immersive gameplay, continue to captivate audiences. Titles like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Horizon Forbidden West are perfect examples of how these games combine exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving to create thrilling experiences.
Battle Royale: The battle royale genre remains incredibly popular, with games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty: Warzone maintaining large player bases. These games feature competitive multiplayer gameplay where players fight to be the last one standing, often on large, ever-changing maps.
Role-Playing Games (RPGs): RPGs continue to be a fan favorite, offering expansive worlds, character customization, and deep storytelling. Final Fantasy XVI and Starfield are some of the genre’s top titles in 2024, showcasing vast open-world environments and complex storylines that appeal to players who enjoy long immersive experiences.
Simulation: Simulation games, such as The Sims 4 and Microsoft Flight Simulator, attract players looking for realistic, often relaxing experiences. Simulation games allow players to escape into lifelike scenarios and exercise creativity, whether managing a city, running a business, or flying a plane.
Sports and Racing: Sports games like FIFA 24 and NBA 2K24 remain popular due to their annual releases and competitive multiplayer modes. Similarly, racing games like Gran Turismo 7 and Forza Horizon 5 continue to draw fans with high-speed action and impressive graphics.
Fighting Games: Fighting games, such as Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6, have been consistently popular, especially within the esports community. These games combine complex controls with intense multiplayer combat, making them staples in both casual and competitive gaming scenes.
Strategy Games: Strategy games, like Age of Empires IV and Starcraft II, appeal to players who enjoy tactical thinking and resource management. Whether real-time or turn-based, these games require players to plan their moves carefully, making them popular among those who want a cerebral challenge.
Puzzle Games: Puzzle games like Tetris Effect and The Witness attract players who enjoy problem-solving and thinking outside the box. These games often focus on logic and creative thinking, providing a rewarding challenge for those who enjoy calm yet mentally stimulating gameplay.

Can’t Stop It: Digital Natives and Their Video Games

In the far future, the world—if civilization as we know it follows a linear trajectory—will be full of digital natives. And, digital natives are virtually video game natives as well. Soon, practically all people alive will, to some considerable degree, be gamers. Imagine that.

However, we do not really need to look to 50 and 60 years ahead. As this key video games industry statistics show, video games are all around us. We see kids watching other kids play them. Not only that: we even carry them around on our phones. Since the 2008 launch of mobile apps and the earlier rise of digital game distribution platforms, it has been easy to procure games, taking just a few clicks or taps on a screen.

The accessibility that the internet provides makes games more popular. Moreover, the cleverness and creativity of developers and marketers make video games very addictive. This creates the perfect storm as to why the industry is poised for further growth. And the video games industry statistics included in this article back this up. Check this article out for a detailed breakdown of the number of gamers worldwide.

Industry insiders will not be the only ones who will benefit from this growth. Other businesses will also be able to leverage the popularity of video games to showcase their offerings via advertising. This influx of interest and revenue will only help the industry take itself to new heights in terms of both technological and financial advancement.

In the next 50 to 60 years, everyone alive in the world will be, to some considerable degree, gamers. You can’t just imagine otherwise.

Key Insights

Market Growth: The video game industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors, with predictions of steady growth over the next five years.
Consumer Spending: In the US, consumer spending on gaming content, hardware, and accessories has seen significant year-over-year increases.
Global Gamer Population: There are approximately 2.7 billion gamers worldwide, representing 26% of the global population.
Platform Popularity: Mobile gaming leads in revenue generation, followed by console and PC gaming. Smartphones are the most used devices for gaming.
Top Gaming Countries: China and the US are the largest markets for gaming revenue.
Impact of COVID-19: The pandemic has increased gaming time and spending, with significant growth in digital downloads and game-related purchases.
Digital Distribution: Digital platforms like Steam and Epic Games dominate game distribution, with substantial user growth and high revenue generation.
PC Gaming: PC gaming remains strong, with significant growth in hardware sales and high engagement across various age groups.
Console Gaming: PlayStation leads the console market, with Nintendo Switch showing substantial growth in unit sales.
Mobile Gaming: Mobile games account for the largest share of industry revenue, with high user engagement and spending.
XR Gaming: VR and AR gaming are growing rapidly, with significant increases in revenue and user adoption.
Video Game Streaming: Platforms like Twitch and YouTube have seen explosive growth in viewership and streaming hours.
eSports: The eSports industry continues to grow, with increasing revenues, audience size, and significant prize money for competitions.

FAQ

What is the current value of the video game industry in the US?

The value of the video game industry in the US was $60.4 billion in 2020, with an average growth rate of 14.7% from 2015 to 2020.

How many gamers are there worldwide?

As of 2020, there are approximately 2.7 billion gamers globally, making up 26% of the world’s population.

Which region has the highest number of gamers?

The Asia Pacific region has the most gamers, with 1.4 billion, followed by Europe with 386 million and the Middle East and Africa with 377 million.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted gaming behavior?

The pandemic has significantly increased gaming time and spending. Gamers spent more hours playing games and made more purchases of digital and physical game copies during lockdowns.

Which platform generates the most revenue in the gaming industry?

Mobile gaming leads the industry in revenue generation, with $85.3 billion in 2020, followed by console gaming with $51.2 billion and PC gaming with $37.4 billion.

What are the most popular gaming devices among gamers?

The most popular gaming devices are smartphones (85%), followed by PCs/laptops (66%), gaming consoles (43%), and tablets (30%).

What is the projected growth of the XR (VR/AR) gaming market?

The XR market is expected to grow from $30.7 billion in 2021 to $296.9 billion by 2024, with significant contributions from both VR and AR gaming.

How popular is video game streaming, and which platform leads the market?

Video game streaming has seen rapid growth, with Twitch leading the market, holding a 65% share in Q1 2020. YouTube and Facebook also have substantial shares.

What are the key revenue sources for the eSports industry?

The main revenue sources for eSports are sponsorships, media rights, publisher fees, merchandise and tickets, digital streams, and streaming.

Who are the top earners in the eSports industry?

Top earners include professional eSports teams like Turnso Gaming and Dallas Empire, as well as individual players, with Magnus Carlsen being the top earner in 2020.

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By Jenny Chang

Jenny Chang is a senior writer specializing in SaaS and B2B software solutions. Her decision to focus on these two industries was spurred by their explosive growth in the last decade, much of it she attributes to the emergence of disruptive technologies and the quick adoption by businesses that were quick to recognize their values to their organizations. She has covered all the major developments in SaaS and B2B software solutions, from the introduction of massive ERPs to small business platforms to help startups on their way to success.