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Analyst: Mobile to make up over half of worldwide game revenue in 2018

This isn’t the first time mobile has brought in more revenue than consoles or PC by a longshot, but this is the first time the platform makes up over half of game revenue on a worldwide scale.

Alissa McAloon, Publisher

May 4, 2018

2 Min Read
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A report released by Newzoo breaks down where the firm believes the global game industry will fall revenue-wise by the end of 2018, noting that it expects mobile to account for 51 percent of the predicted $137.9 billion earned by games this year. 

This isn’t the first time mobile has brought in more revenue than consoles or PC by a longshot, but this is the first time the platform makes up over half of game revenue on a worldwide scale.

And while Newzoo’s numbers are just projections based on the current state of the game industry, the information in the company’s report can offer developers a straightforward look at how the industry is changing through the years.

Looking at revenue generated by mobile, PC, and console games, Newzoo is predicting a year-over-year increase of 13.3 percent from 2017’s numbers, with digital game revenue accounting for 91 percent of that overall, or $125.3 billion.

Mobile games, meanwhile, are expected to see at least a 25.5 year-over-year increase, generating $70.3 billion and accounting for just over half of the global market for the first time. By 2021, Newzoo expects mobile games to be a $100 billion market on their own and generate 59 percent of the overall worldwide video game market.

The full report on Newzoo has a fair amount of other predictions that game developers will likely find interesting. One particular section breaks down what game revenue looks like when broken down by region. Of that $137.9 billion expected to pour in this year, Newzoo believes $37.9 billion of it will come from China, while $30.4 billion is expected from the United States. 

Even so, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to make up a whopping 52 percent (or $71.4 billion) of global game spending this year, a 16.8 percent increase from 2017’s numbers. A closer look at this data can be found on Newzoo

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2018

About the Author

Alissa McAloon

Publisher, GameDeveloper.com

As the Publisher of Game Developer, Alissa McAloon brings a decade of experience in the video game industry and media. When not working in the world of B2B game journalism, Alissa enjoys spending her time in the worlds of immersive sandbox games or dabbling in the occasional TTRPG.

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