Newzoo recently released the latest quarterly update of its Global Games Market Report service, forecasting that 2.3 billion gamers across the globe will spend $137.9 billion on games in 2018. This represents an increase of 13.3% from the year before, or $16.2 billion. Digital game revenues will take 91% of the global market with $125.3 billion.

Mobile gaming will continue to be the largest segment following 10 years of double-digit growth since the first iPhone was launched in 2007. In total, mobile revenues will grow 25.5% year on year to reach $70.3 billion. This means that for the first time, more than half of all game revenues will come from the mobile segment. 

Here are some other findings:

• The games market is on track for a decade of double-digit growth
• Mobile gaming will be a $100 billion market by 2021
• The future also looks bright for PC and console, with downloaded/boxed PC games expected to grow 4.2% from 2017 to 2021
• Live streaming and esports will be fully embraced by the console segment by 2021, further driving player engagement
• Japanese gamers spend the most, making it the #3 country globally 
   

Newzoo’s Global Games Market Forecast Model projects gamer numbers and revenues per segment and region on a global, regional, and country level. It also shows the share of paying gamers and average spend at the same level of granularity. These projections are analyzed in multiple ways, comparing year-on-year growth rates, market share, CAGRs, and absolute amounts in USD between the regions and segments, as well as the development of specific regions or segments in time. To learn more about Newzoo's market forecast methodology, click here.