According to Newzoo’s latest outlook, the worldwide video‑game market is set to expand by roughly 6.1% over the next year, bringing total revenues to an estimated $213.9 billion by the end of 2026. The projection underscores the continuing dominance of two key territories—China and the United States—where more than half of all consumer spend on games is expected to originate. These figures stem from Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report, a comprehensive analysis that will be released in full on September 10.
The report breaks down revenue by platform, business model, and region, offering a detailed view of where growth is coming from and where the industry may face headwinds. **Console segment** Newzoo anticipates that console‑based gaming will account for about 22% of the total market, generating roughly $46.9 billion in revenue. This represents a 5.1% increase compared with the previous year. A major driver of this uplift is the highly publicised November release of Rockstar Games’ next‑generation title, Grand Theft Auto VI.
The company expects the new installment to push full‑game spending up by 17.5%, a rise that Newzoo describes as the strongest growth among all existing business models. The heightened interest in a premium, full‑price title is expected to spill over into ancillary sales such as downloadable content, season passes, and related merchandise. **Mobile gaming** Mobile devices remain the largest revenue source, projected to capture 57% of the global pie and deliver $121.1 billion in sales. This segment is slated to grow 6.8% year‑on‑year, buoyed by two complementary trends.
First, players are spending more per user, a pattern driven by increasingly sophisticated monetisation strategies, higher‑quality titles, and a broader acceptance of in‑app purchases. Second, the rise of direct‑to‑consumer (D2C) distribution channels—where developers sell games straight to players via their own storefronts—has opened new avenues for revenue capture and data collection.
A recent survey conducted by FastSpring and Omdia found that 96% of game studios either already run a D2C web store or have concrete plans to launch one. Studios cite improved brand visibility, stronger customer loyalty, and richer first‑party data as the primary motivations for moving away from third‑party marketplaces. **PC gaming** The personal‑computer segment is expected to hold the smallest share of the market, at about 21% or $45.9 billion. Growth for PC games is forecast at 5.3% year‑over‑year, a slowdown from the 12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) that Newzoo had projected for 2025.
Despite the slower pace, the PC market is predicted to benefit from a geographically diverse expansion, with notable gains in the Asia‑Pacific region, Latin America, and the Middle East‑Africa (MEA) corridor. These areas are experiencing rising broadband penetration and a growing middle class, both of which fuel higher adoption of PC hardware and gaming.
**Business models and revenue mix** Premium and mid‑tier titles are expected to continue sustaining full‑game revenue streams, while microtransactions—small, in‑game purchases—are projected to reclaim the position of the largest business model overall. This shift reflects a maturing ecosystem where developers blend traditional full‑price releases with ongoing monetisation tactics such as cosmetics, battle passes, and loot boxes. The balance between these models will be crucial for studios seeking to maximise lifetime value per player.
**Player base dynamics** The total number of gamers worldwide is forecast to rise to 4.07 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual rate of 3.2% after a 4.4% increase in 2026. Growth in the player base is expected to slow, signalling that future market expansion will rely more on deepening engagement and extracting additional revenue from existing users rather than simply onboarding new gamers.
Regional breakdown shows mobile gamers reaching 3.10 billion in 2026, representing roughly 84% of all players. PC gamers are projected at 977 million (about 26% of the total), while console players are expected to number 651 million, or 18% of the global audience.
These figures illustrate the continuing dominance of mobile as the primary entry point for new gamers, especially in emerging markets. **Penetration and market saturation** Player penetration—the proportion of the global online population that plays games—is slated to edge up from 61.5% to 62% in 2026. Newzoo notes that there is limited room for dramatic increases in penetration; instead, growth will be driven by the overall expansion of the online population, which is projected to rise by 3.5% to approximately 5.97 billion people.
This subtle shift highlights the importance of retaining and monetising the existing audience, as the low‑hang‑over of untapped users shrinks. **Emerging market focus** Growth is increasingly concentrated in emerging economies. The Asia‑Pacific region remains the largest contributor to market expansion, while the Middle East and Africa are the fastest‑growing areas in terms of revenue share.
Factors such as improved internet infrastructure, rising disposable income, and localized content are fueling this momentum. In summary, Newzoo’s outlook paints a picture of a robust yet evolving gaming landscape. While overall revenue is set to climb to $213.9 billion, the composition of that growth is shifting: mobile continues to dominate, consoles benefit from marquee releases like Grand Theft Auto VI, and PC gaming finds new opportunities in under‑served regions. At the same time, developers and publishers will need to focus on sophisticated monetisation strategies and deeper engagement with existing players to sustain momentum in a market where the pool of new users is gradually plateauing.