According to Newzoo’s latest Global Games Market Report, the worldwide video‑game sector is set to expand by 6.1 percent in 2026, bringing total revenues to roughly $213.9 billion. More than half of this spending will continue to be driven by two of the world’s largest consumer bases—China and the United States—underscoring the continued importance of these markets for developers and publishers alike. The full report, scheduled for release on September 10, breaks down the forecast by platform, business model, and regional trends. Console revenue is expected to make up 22 percent of the total market, amounting to $46.9 billion, which represents a 5.1 percent year‑over‑year increase.
A key catalyst for this uplift is the highly anticipated November launch of 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. Mobile gaming will remain the dominant platform, accounting for 57 percent of global revenue and reaching $121.1 billion.
This segment is projected to grow 6.8 percent compared with the previous year, fueled 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 operate or plan to launch a D2C storefront. Studios cite better brand visibility, stronger player loyalty, and richer first‑party data as the primary motivations for moving sales in‑house. In contrast, the PC market is slated to hold the smallest slice of the pie at 21 percent, translating to $45.9 billion in revenue.
While still growing—at an estimated 5.3 percent year‑over‑year—the PC segment’s pace is expected to slow relative to its historic compound annual growth rate of 12 percent that Newzoo had projected for 2025. Nonetheless, growth on PC is expected to be geographically diverse, with notable gains in the Asia‑Pacific region, Latin America, and the Middle East‑Africa (MEA) corridor. When it comes to business models, premium and mid‑priced titles are forecast to continue sustaining the bulk of full‑game revenue.
At the same time, microtransactions are poised to reclaim the top spot as the largest source of income across all platforms, reflecting the industry’s ongoing shift toward ongoing monetisation after launch. Player‑base dynamics also feature prominently in the outlook.
Newzoo estimates that the total number of gamers worldwide will rise to 4.07 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 3.2 percent after a 4.4 percent increase in 2026. This modest deceleration suggests that future expansion will rely more on extracting additional value from existing players rather than on attracting large numbers of new participants.
In line with this, the firm notes that market growth will increasingly hinge on retaining and monetising the current audience. Regional growth patterns reinforce the importance of emerging markets.
Asia‑Pacific remains the largest gaming region, while the Middle East and Africa are the fastest‑growing areas, indicating that developers should pay close attention to localisation, payment infrastructure, and cultural relevance in these territories. Player distribution by platform is expected to be heavily skewed toward mobile.
Newzoo projects 3.10 billion mobile gamers in 2026, representing about 84 percent of the total player base. PC gamers are forecast at 977 million (approximately 26 percent of the total), and console enthusiasts at 651 million (roughly 18 percent). These figures illustrate the sheer scale of mobile’s dominance while still acknowledging the substantial, albeit smaller, communities on PC and consoles. Penetration rates are also set to inch upward.
The proportion of the global online population that engages in gaming is predicted to rise from 61.5 percent to 62 percent in 2026. Newzoo cautions that there is limited headroom for expanding the base through deeper market penetration; instead, growth will be driven by the overall online population expanding by an estimated 3.5 percent to reach 5.97 billion people. In summary, the 2026 outlook paints a picture of a maturing industry where revenue growth is increasingly tied to strategic releases—such as Grand Theft Auto VI—enhanced D2C capabilities, and a focus on monetising existing players across mobile, console, and PC platforms.
While mobile continues to dominate in both revenue and player count, consoles and PCs still offer meaningful opportunities, especially in regions where growth remains robust. Developers and publishers that can adapt to these nuanced trends—leveraging direct sales, embracing microtransaction models, and tailoring experiences to emerging markets—are likely to capture the lion’s share of the projected $213.9 billion market.