According to the latest figures released by market‑research firm Newzoo, the most entrenched live‑service and evergreen titles recorded either stagnant or negative year‑over‑year growth during the first half of 2026 when compared with the same period in 2025. The firm’s newly issued Global Games Market Report highlights that only a handful of games managed to post any meaningful expansion. Those outliers include Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, the newly launched Diablo IV, Overwatch, the user‑generated content platform Roblox, and a selection of international releases from Chinese giant Tencent.
The report also notes that while PlayStation Plus is expected to bolster the multi‑game subscription segment, overall digital revenue fell across six major Western markets in H1 2026. Newzoo attributes this dip to a weakening of both free‑to‑play models and annualised premium subscriptions, which together outweighed the impact of strong new launches. Looking ahead, Newzoo projects console‑player growth to reach roughly 3 percent for the full year, a modest improvement over the near‑flat 0.5 percent increase recorded in 2025.
The primary catalyst for this uptick is the highly anticipated launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, a title that is expected to inject fresh momentum into the console ecosystem, particularly for Sony’s PlayStation brand. In addition, first‑party releases for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 are anticipated to broaden the install base for ninth‑generation hardware.
Supporting this outlook, recent Nielsen IQ data reveal that sales of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles in the United Kingdom surged by 33 percent and 34 percent respectively in the weeks following the premiere of GTA VI on Netflix. Newzoo’s director of market intelligence, Emmanuel "Manu" Rosier, told GamesIndustry.biz that without the pull of GTA VI, console‑related revenues would likely have remained flat relative to 2025 levels. The firm’s quarterly ranking of the top ten publicly listed gaming companies for Q1 2026 shows a collective revenue haul of $37.4 billion, marking a 6.7 percent increase over the previous year. Tencent remains the clear leader, posting an 11.9 percent rise to $10.8 billion.
Sony follows with $5.2 billion in revenue, a slight 0.9 percent decline, while Microsoft reported $5.1 billion, down 5.5 percent. Roblox experienced a dramatic 39.3 percent year‑on‑year jump, bringing its earnings to $1.4 billion and securing the tenth spot on the list. On a broader scale, Newzoo continues to forecast that the global games market will hit $213.9 billion in 2026, representing a 6.1 percent year‑over‑year expansion. The Asia‑Pacific region is slated to contribute almost half of that total, with expected revenues of $100.7 billion.
China alone is projected to generate $58.1 billion, while North America will account for $56.9 billion, of which the United States is expected to deliver $53.5 billion. Player‑base growth is also on the rise, with Newzoo estimating a total of 3.7 billion gamers worldwide in 2026 – a 4.4 percent increase from the prior year. Notably, the proportion of players who actually spend money on games is expected to climb to 44.6 percent, up from 39.4 percent in 2015, indicating a maturing monetisation landscape.
In terms of spending efficiency, the average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) is forecast to reach $129.6, a modest 1.4 percent gain year‑on‑year. Newzoo attributes this incremental rise to deeper spending habits among existing players rather than a surge in new paying customers. Overall, the data paint a picture of a market where legacy live‑service titles are struggling to maintain momentum, while fresh, high‑profile releases such as Grand Theft Auto VI and upcoming Nintendo exclusives are expected to act as key growth engines.
The modest rebound in console adoption, bolstered by subscription services and a renewed focus on premium content, suggests that the industry may be entering a period of cautious optimism, provided that flagship launches continue to capture consumer attention and drive both hardware sales and in‑game spending.