The forecast for global game content revenue shows a projected increase from $204.4 billion in 2025 to $229.1 billion in 2030, with a 2.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), according to S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.
This growth is attributed to publishers focusing on enhancing monetisation among current players through various strategies such as live-service retention, premium content, subscription models, and in-game purchases.
However, potential factors such as rising console hardware prices, inflation impact on consumers, higher development costs, and lengthy production cycles may pose challenges to this growth.
The Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to dominate the gaming market, driven by a substantial mobile user base, robust PC gaming infrastructure, and ongoing enhancements in broadband connectivity.
In terms of platform, S&P predicts that PC will lead the way, with revenue expected to climb from $42.25 billion in 2025 to $49.23 billion in 2030, reflecting a 3.1% CAGR.
This growth is linked to factors such as digital distribution, increased cross-platform availability, and the strong performance expected in the Asia-Pacific region.
Cloud gaming is projected to experience the highest growth rate, with global revenue forecasted to increase from $6.12 billion in 2025 to $9.71 billion in 2030, showing a 9.7% CAGR, supported by improved connectivity and subscription models.
Console revenue is set to benefit from titles like Grand Theft Auto 6 and the continued success of the Nintendo Switch 2. However, S&P points out that the Xbox Series line has seen a significant decline and foresees potential competition from the PC market impacting Xbox software revenue by 2030.
Xbox recently reported a 29% decrease in hardware revenue, with a corresponding $1.7 billion drop in revenue.
Neil Barbour, an analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan, remarked, “Gaming is still a growing market, but the industry’s future growth will rely more on maximizing value from existing players.”
“Publishers have shown their ability to increase monetisation across major platforms, although they continue to face challenges from rising development costs, price increases, and a more discerning consumer base,” Barbour added.