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 an estimated $213.9 billion. More than half of this spending is expected to originate from just two markets—China and the United States—highlighting the continued dominance of these economies in the digital entertainment landscape. The full report, slated for release on September 10, breaks down the forecast by platform, business model, and regional trends.
Console hardware and software sales are projected to account for roughly 22 percent of the total market, translating to $46.9 billion in revenue and a modest 5.1 percent year‑over‑year increase. A key driver behind this uplift is the highly anticipated November launch of Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI. Newzoo predicts that the title will lift full‑game spending by an impressive 17.5 percent, marking the strongest growth rate among all business models in the sector.
Mobile gaming remains the largest slice of the pie, expected to capture 57 percent of global revenue—about $121.1 billion. This segment is growing at a 6.8 percent annual rate, fueled by higher average spend per player and the rapid expansion of direct‑to‑consumer (D2C) distribution channels. A recent FastSpring and Omdia survey underscores this shift: 96 percent of development studios either already run a D2C storefront or plan to launch one.
Studios cite enhanced brand visibility, stronger player loyalty, and direct access to first‑party data as primary motivations for moving away from traditional marketplace models. In contrast, the PC gaming segment is forecast to hold the smallest market share at 21 percent, or $45.9 billion. While still growing—at an estimated 5.3 percent year‑over‑year—the pace is expected to decelerate compared with the 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) projected for 2025.
Newzoo attributes this slowdown to market maturation and the increasing difficulty of acquiring new players in a saturated ecosystem. When it comes to business models, premium and mid‑priced titles are expected to continue sustaining full‑game revenue streams. Meanwhile, microtransactions are projected to reclaim their position as the largest revenue generator across platforms, reflecting the industry’s ongoing pivot toward ongoing monetisation through in‑game purchases, cosmetics, and seasonal passes. Geographically, PC growth is anticipated to be broadly distributed, with the strongest gains coming from the Asia‑Pacific region, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa (MEA).
These emerging markets are becoming crucial engines of expansion, as they collectively contribute a growing share of new player acquisition and spend. Player base dynamics also reveal a nuanced picture. Newzoo estimates that the total number of gamers worldwide will reach 4.07 billion by 2029, growing at a 3.2 percent CAGR from 2026 onward. This represents a slowdown from the 4.4 percent year‑over‑year increase projected for 2026, indicating that future growth will rely more on deepening engagement and monetising existing users rather than simply adding newcomers.
Mobile devices will continue to dominate player counts, with an estimated 3.10 billion mobile gamers in 2026—accounting for roughly 84 percent of the global gaming population. PC gamers are expected to number around 977 million (about 26 percent), while console enthusiasts will total approximately 651 million users (18 percent). Overall player penetration is projected to edge up from 61.5 percent to 62 percent in 2026, suggesting limited room for expanding the base through higher penetration rates.
Instead, growth will largely stem from the online population itself expanding by an estimated 3.5 percent to reach 5.97 billion people. Newzoo emphasizes that the industry’s next phase will hinge on retaining current audiences and extracting additional value from them. As the market matures, developers and publishers will need to focus on sophisticated retention strategies, personalised content, and innovative monetisation techniques to sustain revenue growth.
In summary, the 2026 outlook paints a picture of steady, if modest, expansion across all major platforms, with mobile leading in both revenue share and player numbers, consoles benefiting from flagship releases like Grand Theft Auto VI, and PC experiencing slower but still positive growth. Emerging regions such as Asia‑Pacific, Latin America, and MEA will continue to be vital sources of new users, while the overall emphasis shifts toward deeper engagement of the existing gamer community.