The analytics company Newzoo has finalized the results for the global video game market in 2025—before this, they had managed to release several forecasts. As it turned out, last year was the best in financial terms in the history of observations, despite numerous layoffs and studio closures.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Key Takeaways from the Report
- According to Newzoo's calculations, the market revenue in 2025 reached $201.6 billion for the first time in history. This is 9.1% more than in 2024. Previously, in the most optimistic scenario, analysts expected to see "only" $196.7 billion.
- Mobile remained the largest segment with revenue of $113.3 billion (+10.7%). Its income increased due to the success of Chinese mini-games and the development of direct-to-consumer sales (D2C).
- The second place went to the console games segment with $44.7 billion (+2.8%). Out of these, $19.9 billion (+8.1%) came from paid game sales, $13.3 billion (-4.6%) from microtransactions, and $9.4 billion (+11.7%) from subscriptions.
- The PC games segment generated $43.6 billion (+12%). According to Newzoo, its growth rate has never been so high. This achievement was due to the release of several high-profile games like Battlefield 6, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Moreover, mid-priced games performed particularly well in 2025.
- Microtransactions remained the primary revenue source for PC games, accounting for nearly half of the total—$20.3 billion (+9.1%).
- Meanwhile, in-game subscriptions showed the largest growth on PC, with revenue surging by 42.1% to $1.8 billion. Paid PC games also demonstrated a strong increase in revenue by 25.3% to $14.1 billion.
- 52% of the global video game market revenue came from two countries—China ($54.6 billion) and the USA ($50.8 billion).
- Newzoo forecasts that by the end of 2026, gamers worldwide will spend $213.9 billion on games. By 2028, the figure is expected to reach $234.4 billion.
