According to Newzoo’s latest Global Games Market Report, the worldwide video‑game sector is on track to expand by 6.1 percent in 2026, pushing total revenues to roughly $213.9 billion. More than half of that spending is expected to come from two powerhouses: China and the United States. The full report, which will be released on September 10, breaks down the outlook by platform, business model, and regional trends, offering a detailed picture of where growth will originate and how developers can adapt. Console earnings are slated to represent about 22 percent of the overall market, amounting to $46.9 billion—a 5.1 percent rise over the previous year.
A key driver of this uplift is the highly anticipated November launch of Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI. Newzoo predicts that the new title will lift full‑game spending by 17.5 percent, marking the strongest growth among all business models in the industry.
This surge reflects the enduring appeal of premium, narrative‑driven experiences that command higher price points and generate substantial revenue per user. Mobile gaming remains the dominant platform, projected to capture 57 percent of total revenue, or $121.1 billion.
The sector’s growth rate of 6.8 percent year‑on‑year is fueled by two complementary 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 or plan to launch their own D2C storefronts.
Developers cite improved brand visibility, stronger player loyalty, and direct access to first‑party data as primary motivations for bypassing traditional marketplaces. In contrast, the PC segment is expected to hold the smallest slice of the pie at 21 percent, translating to $45.9 billion in revenue.
Although still growing—up 5.3 percent year‑on‑year—PC’s pace is slowing compared with the 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) forecast for 2025. Newzoo attributes this deceleration to a maturing market and heightened competition from mobile and console titles.
Nevertheless, growth on PC is expected to be geographically diverse, with notable gains in the Asia‑Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East‑Africa (MEA) regions. When it comes to business models, premium and mid‑priced releases are forecast to keep sustaining full‑game revenue streams, while microtransactions are poised to reclaim their status as the largest source of income across all platforms. This shift suggests that developers will continue to blend high‑quality, full‑price experiences with ongoing, in‑game monetisation strategies to maximise lifetime value.
Player numbers are projected to rise, but at a slower clip. The global gaming population is expected to reach 4.07 billion by 2029, representing a 3.2 percent CAGR from 2026 onward, down from a 4.4 percent increase in 2026 alone. Newzoo emphasizes that future expansion will rely more on retaining and monetising existing users rather than attracting fresh ones, highlighting the importance of engagement, community building, and personalized content. Emerging markets will continue to be the engine of growth.
The Asia‑Pacific region remains the largest contributor, while the Middle East and Africa are expanding at the fastest rate. Mobile gamers are estimated to number 3.10 billion in 2026, accounting for roughly 84 percent of all players.
PC gamers are projected at 977 million (about 26 percent), and console enthusiasts at 651 million (approximately 18 percent). Overall player penetration is expected to inch up from 61.5 percent to 62 percent in 2026, reflecting limited headroom for deeper market saturation. Instead, growth will largely stem from the online population itself expanding by roughly 3.5 percent to reach 5.97 billion people worldwide. These findings underscore a maturing industry where strategic focus is shifting toward deeper monetisation of existing audiences, leveraging D2C channels, and balancing premium titles with ongoing microtransaction revenue.
Studios that can successfully navigate these dynamics—particularly in fast‑growing regions like Asia‑Pacific, Latin America, and MEA—are likely to capture the lion’s share of the projected $213.9 billion market in 2026.