According to Newzoo’s latest Global Games Market Report, the worldwide video‑game industry is set to expand by 6.1 percent over the next year, pushing total revenues to an estimated $213.9 billion in 2026. More than half of this spending is expected to come from two of the biggest consumer bases on the planet—China and the United States—underscoring the continued importance of these markets for developers, publishers, and platform holders alike.
The full report, scheduled for release on September 10, breaks down the forecast by platform, business model, and geography, offering a detailed picture of where growth will be strongest. Console hardware and software sales are projected to make up roughly 22 percent of the total market, amounting to $46.9 billion, and are expected to grow at a 5.1 percent annual rate. A key driver of this uplift will be the highly anticipated November launch of Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI.
Newzoo predicts that the new title will boost full‑game spending by 17.5 percent, labeling this the most vigorous growth among all business models in the sector. Mobile gaming remains the dominant force, accounting for an estimated 57 percent of global revenues—about $121.1 billion. This segment is forecast to climb 6.8 percent year‑over‑year, propelled by higher average spend per player and the rapid expansion of direct‑to‑consumer (D2C) distribution channels.
A recent survey conducted by FastSpring and Omdia revealed that 96 percent of game studios either already run or plan to launch their own D2C storefronts. Studios cite stronger brand visibility, deeper customer loyalty, and richer first‑party data as primary motivations for this shift, all of which can translate into higher monetisation efficiency. In contrast, the PC platform is expected to hold the smallest slice of the market at 21 percent, or $45.9 billion.
Although still growing—at an estimated 5.3 percent year‑over‑year—PC revenues are projected to decelerate relative to the 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) that Newzoo had forecast for 2025. The slowdown reflects a maturing ecosystem where incremental gains are harder to achieve without significant innovation or new distribution models.
When it comes to business models, Newzoo anticipates that premium and mid‑tier titles will continue to sustain the bulk of full‑game revenue, while microtransactions are expected to reclaim their position as the largest source of income across all platforms. This resurgence is tied to the increasing sophistication of in‑game economies and the willingness of players to spend on cosmetics, battle passes, and other optional content. For the PC segment, growth is expected to be geographically diverse, led by strong performance in the Asia‑Pacific region, as well as emerging markets in Latin America and the Middle East‑Africa (MEA) corridor. Player numbers are also a focal point of the outlook.
The total global gaming audience is projected to rise to 4.07 billion by 2029, representing a compound annual growth rate of 3.2 percent after a 4.4 percent increase in 2026. However, Newzoo cautions that future expansion will rely increasingly on retaining and monetising existing players rather than simply adding new ones to the base.
This shift reflects the limited headroom for deeper market penetration—penetration is expected to edge up only modestly from 61.5 percent to 62 percent in 2026—while the overall online population is forecast to grow 3.5 percent to 5.97 billion. Regional dynamics further illustrate where the momentum is gathering.
Asia‑Pacific remains the largest gaming region, driven by both mobile and console adoption, while the Middle East and Africa are expanding at the fastest rate, suggesting that emerging economies are becoming increasingly important contributors to overall revenue. Mobile player counts are estimated to hit 3.10 billion in 2026, which would represent 84 percent of the total gaming populace. PC players are expected to number around 977 million (about 26 percent of the market), and console enthusiasts are projected to reach 651 million users, or roughly 18 percent.
In summary, Newzoo’s projections paint a picture of steady, multi‑digit growth across the gaming landscape, with mobile leading the charge, consoles benefiting from marquee releases like Grand Theft Auto VI, and PC markets maturing but still delivering solid gains. The industry’s future appears to hinge on deeper engagement with existing audiences, the continued rise of D2C storefronts, and the strategic use of microtransaction‑driven monetisation. As emerging markets in Asia‑Pacific, Latin America, and MEA continue to expand, developers and publishers will need to tailor their offerings to diverse cultural preferences and spending behaviours to capture the next wave of growth.