According to Newzoo’s latest Global Games Market Report, which will be released in full on September 10, the worldwide video‑game industry is slated to expand by 6.1 percent over the next year, reaching a total value of roughly $213.9 billion. More than half of that consumer spend is expected to come from just two markets – China and the United States – underscoring the continued dominance of these regions in the digital entertainment landscape.
The report breaks down the forecast by platform, beginning with consoles. Newzoo predicts console revenues will climb to $46.9 billion, representing 22 percent of the overall market and a 5.1 percent year‑over‑year increase. A key driver of this uplift is the highly anticipated November launch of Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI.
The title is forecast to lift full‑game spending by an impressive 17.5 percent, a boost that Newzoo labels as the strongest growth among all business models in the sector. Mobile gaming remains the heavyweight champion of platform share. The segment is expected to capture 57 percent of total market revenue, translating to $121.1 billion.
This 6.8 percent annual rise is being powered by two forces: higher average spend per player and the rapid expansion of direct‑to‑consumer (D2C) distribution channels. Recent research from FastSpring and Omdia shows that 96 percent of game studios either already run a D2C web store or have plans to launch one. Studios cite benefits such as greater brand visibility, stronger customer loyalty, and richer first‑party data that can be used to fine‑tune monetisation strategies.
Personal computers, while still a significant slice of the pie, are projected to hold the smallest share at 21 percent, or $45.9 billion. Growth for the PC segment is estimated at 5.3 percent year‑on‑year, a slowdown compared with the 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) Newzoo had projected for 2025. The report suggests that PC growth will be geographically diverse, with the strongest gains coming from the Asia‑Pacific region, as well as emerging markets in Latin America and the Middle East‑Africa (MEA) corridor. In terms of business models, premium and mid‑priced titles are expected to keep delivering solid full‑game revenue streams.
Meanwhile, microtransactions – the small‑scale in‑game purchases that have become a staple of modern monetisation – are forecast to reclaim the top spot as the largest revenue generator across platforms. Player‑base dynamics also feature prominently in the outlook. Newzoo anticipates that the global number of gamers will 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.
This deceleration signals that future expansion will rely more on retaining and extracting value from existing players rather than on onboarding large numbers of new users. The report notes that the overall player penetration is expected to edge up slightly from 61.5 percent to 62 percent in 2026, highlighting the limited room for growth through deeper market saturation.
Instead, the increase will stem from the global online population expanding by roughly 3.5 percent to an estimated 5.97 billion individuals. Regional trends reveal that growth is increasingly concentrated in emerging markets.
The Asia‑Pacific region continues to be the largest contributor to overall revenue, while the Middle East and Africa are experiencing the fastest growth rates, reflecting rising internet accessibility and smartphone adoption in those areas. When the report looks at platform‑specific player counts for 2026, mobile gaming dominates with an estimated 3.10 billion participants, accounting for about 84 percent of all gamers. PC gamers are projected to number around 977 million (26 percent of the total), and console players are expected to reach 651 million, or roughly 18 percent of the global audience.
Overall, Newzoo’s forecast paints a picture of a maturing industry where incremental revenue gains will be driven by higher spend per user, the proliferation of D2C storefronts, and flagship releases such as Grand Theft Auto VI. While the pace of player‑base expansion may slow, the sector’s ability to monetize existing audiences through diversified business models and regional growth in emerging markets suggests a resilient trajectory toward the $213.9 billion milestone in 2026.