The worldwide gaming industry is now worth more than $300bn (£215bn), according to a new report, giving it a higher value than movies and music combined.
The research from Accenture found that there were now 2.7 billion gamers worldwide – considerably more than a third of the world’s population.
The report found that there had been a surge since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying lockdowns, but the trend was already on the rise.
Also fuelled by the rise of mobile gaming, the industry as a whole had found nearly half a billion players over the past three years.
Over 400 million participants were also expected to start gaming by the end of 2023 – which would represent almost a billion, a rise of a third, over a little more than five years.
The demographics of the average gamer are also changing from common cultural perceptions.
Of these new gamers, 60% are female, less than a third (30%) are under the age of 25, and a third identify as non-white.
These are quite different from long-time existing gamers, of whom nearly two-thirds (61%) were male, 79% were over 25, and three quarters (76%) identified as white.
Previous studies have highlighted the rise of so-called ‘casual’ gamers, but many of the newest gamers engaged deeply not only with the games they played but also with the platforms and communities connected to them.
Players spend a lot of time on game-related activities
The Accenture study found that players were spending an average of 16 hours per week actually playing the games.
In addition, they spent eight hours per week watching or participating in game-related streaming and six hours weekly interacting with forums and communities centred on the games.
Social interactions with other people represented a key factor behind the gaming industry’s growth, especially relating to online gaming.
Around three quarters of gamers said that they expected online gaming to become a larger part of their overall gaming experience.
Accenture’s global software & platforms lead Robin Murdoch said that the gaming industry was also having a big cultural impact beyond people playing the games, spawning movie franchises, toys, live competitions, and more.
He added that we were now seeing the emergence of gaming as an “ecosystem of superplatforms”, on which players could also socialise, watch livestreams, shop, and listen to music.
Today’s news was brought to you by TD SYNNEX – the UK’s number one solutions distributor.
