By the end of 2021, the total revenue of the gaming industry will be $175.8 billion, according to Newzoo analysts. This is 1.1% less than it was last year. Among the main reasons for the decline: lack of equipment due to supply problems, postponement of game releases and restriction of IDFA on iOS.
Main figures:
- in 2020, the revenue of the gaming industry for the first time managed to overcome the milestone of $177.8 billion (an increase of 23.1% compared to 2019). But despite the fact that it will not be possible to keep the bar in 2021 and revenue will drop slightly, the decline does not cause concern among analysts. According to their estimates, by 2023, the industry’s revenue will grow to $204.6 billion.;
- by the end of 2021, there will be 2.9 billion gamers in the world;
- revenue in the console segment will fall the most this year — by 8.9% in annual terms. It will amount to $49.2 billion;
- there will also be a drop in the PC segment. It will decrease by 2.8% to $35.9 billion. Moreover, of all PC games, browser-based ones will suffer the most, with revenue falling by 18% to $2.6 billion;
- mobile will be the only segment that will continue to grow in 2021. It will rise by 4.4% in annual terms, earning $90.7 billion. Note that mobile gaming will account for 52% of the total revenue of the gaming industry.
Reasons for the decline in 2021:
- Newzoo attributes the drop in industry revenue to the consequences of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To a greater extent, they will affect the console and PC segments, and to a lesser extent, the segment of games for mobile devices;
- the global shortage of chips led to problems with the supply of iron back in 2020. The situation has not improved in 2021. There are almost no new generation consoles and components on the market that are necessary for full support of AAA-class games on PC;
- the pandemic also affected the speed of game creation, as many developers were forced to work remotely. This is most critical for console AAA titles, but it also applies to high-budget PC games. Newzoo added that many studios have already postponed releases to the second half of 2021 or 2022;
- Although the mobile segment as a whole will grow in 2021, games monetized through advertising will suffer due to the IDFA ban on iOS. Analysts also expect that Apple‘s initiative will make it more difficult to attract new users and reduce the effectiveness of marketing. But it’s worth considering that mobile earns the lion’s share of revenue in China, where giants like Tencent and NetEase work without IDFA.