Gaming has soared in popularity, with millions of players worldwide. In 2023, the number of gamers has reached remarkable heights, setting new records. The gaming market’s valuation has skyrocketed, making it one of the most lucrative sectors in entertainment.
The gaming industry continues to innovate, offering diverse experiences. Mobile gaming, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) have emerged as prominent trends in the gaming industry. Let’s explore the latest statistics and trends and understand the dynamic world of gaming.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key Gamer Statistics
- The global number of gamers has surpassed 3.2 billion, demonstrating the widespread popularity of gaming worldwide.
- Mobile gaming has experienced explosive growth, with more than 2.9 billion smartphone gamers globally.
- The gaming industry’s market value has reached an impressive $230 billion, solidifying its position as a highly lucrative sector.
- Console gaming continues to be popular, with an estimated 800 million console gamers worldwide.
- PC gaming maintains a substantial user base, with over 1.3 billion PC gamers globally.
- The average age of gamers is approximately 34 years old, highlighting the diverse age range of players.
- Esports has seen remarkable growth, attracting a global viewership of over 500 million people.
- Female gamers represent nearly 41% of the total gaming population, indicating a significant increase in gender diversity.
- The Asia-Pacific region continues to hold the position of the largest gaming market, accounting for over 50% of the global game revenue.
- The United States is the leading gaming market in terms of revenue, generating over $40 billion annually.
Number of Gamers in 2023:
The global number of gamers in 2023 has exceeded 3.2 billion. Year-by-Year Increase in the
Number of Gamers from 2015 to 2024:
|
Year |
No. of Gamers |
| 2015 |
2.03 Billion |
|
2016 |
2.17 Billion |
|
2017 |
2.33 Billion |
|
2018 |
2.49 Billion |
| 2019 |
2.64 Billion |
|
2020 |
2.81 Billion |
| 2021 |
2.96 Billion |
|
2022 |
3.09 Billion |
| 2023 |
3.22 Billion |
| 2024 |
3.32 Billion |
Increase in Number of Gamers Year by Year from 2015 to 2024:
| Year | Increase in the Number of Gamers |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | 0.14 |
| 2017 | 0.16 |
| 2018 | 0.16 |
| 2019 | 0.15 |
| 2020 | 0.17 |
| 2021 | 0.15 |
| 2022 | 0.13 |
| 2023 | 0.13 |
| 2024 | 0.1 |
Top 10 Countries with the Most Active eSports Players:
| Sl.no. | Country | No. of active esports players |
| 1 | The United States | 4550 |
| 2 | Brazil | 1387 |
| 3 | China | 1553 |
| 4 | South Korea | 1064 |
| 5 | Russia | 1059 |
| 6 | France | 1057 |
| 7 | Germany | 1047 |
| 8 | The United Kingdom | 932 |
| 9 | Japan | 864 |
| 10 | Thailand | 827 |
Statistics on different types of Gamers
- Number of PC gamers: There are over 1.3 billion PC gamers worldwide.
- Number of video gamers in the world: The total number of video gamers worldwide is estimated to be more than 3.2 billion.
- Number of mobile gamers: There are more than 2.9 billion mobile gamers globally.
- Number of console gamers: The exact number of console gamers is not specified, but it is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions worldwide.
- Number of PlayStation gamers: The specific number of PlayStation gamers is not available, but PlayStation has a significant user base globally.
- Number of PC gamers: As mentioned earlier, there are over 1.3 billion PC gamers worldwide.
- Number of Xbox gamers: The exact number of Xbox gamers is not provided, but Xbox has a substantial user base globally.
Gamers By Region
| Region | Number of Gamers (In Billions) |
| Asia | 1.48 |
| Europe | 0.715 |
| Latin America | 0.420 |
| North America | 0.285 |
| MENA | 0.168 |
| Sub – Saharan Africa | 0.144 |
| Oceania | 0.032 |
Key Statistics:
- Asia boasts over 1.48 billion gamers, more than twice the number in any other region.
- Impressively, Asia alone surpasses the combined count of active gamers in Europe, Latin America, and North America, accounting for 1.42 billion gamers.
- Japan and the UK have the highest video game user penetration rate, both standing at 58%.
- By 2027, the UK is projected to have the highest user penetration rate, with an expected 70% of the population playing video games.
Biggest Gaming Nation by User Penetration:
| Country | 2017 | 2022 | 2027 |
| Japan | 53% | 58% | 67% |
| UK | 50% | 58% | 70% |
| Sweden | 47% | 51% | 64% |
| South Korea | 45% | 57% | 64% |
| France | 43% | – | – |
| Mexico | – | 53% | – |
| Nigeria | – | – | 63% |
Gamer Demographics
- The average age of a gamer is 35 years old.
- The gender distribution among gamers is relatively balanced, with 45% being female and 55% being male.
- The majority of gamers, around 63%, play games on their smartphones.
- PC gaming remains popular, with approximately 47% of gamers playing on a computer.
- Console gaming is also prevalent, with 42% of gamers playing on dedicated gaming consoles.
- On average, individuals spend approximately 7 hours per week gaming.
- Mobile gaming has a wide age range, with 60% of gamers aged 18-34 and 33% aged 35-54.
- Esports has seen substantial growth, with a global audience and participation in the millions.
| Demographics | Percentage |
| Average Age | 35 years old |
| Gender | 45% female, 55% male |
| Smartphone | 63% |
| PC Gaming | 47% |
| Console Gaming | 42% |
| Weekly Playtime | Approximately 7 hours |
| Mobile Gaming Age Range | 18-34:60%, 35-54: 33% |
| Esports | Growing industry |
Percentage of male and female gamers from 2006 to 2024:
| Year | Percentage of Male Gamers | Percentage of Female Gamers |
| 2006 | 62% | 38% |
| 2007 | 62% | 38% |
| 2008 | 60% | 40% |
| 2009 | 60% | 40% |
| 2010 | 60% | 40% |
| 2011 | 58% | 42% |
| 2012 | 53% | 47% |
| 2013 | 55% | 45% |
| 2014 | 52% | 48% |
| 2015 | 56% | 44% |
| 2016 | 59% | 41% |
| 2017 | 59% | 41% |
| 2018 | 55% | 45% |
| 2019 | 54% | 46% |
| 2020 | 59% | 41% |
| 2021 | 55% | 45% |
| 2022 | 55% | 45% |
| 2023 | 51% | 49% |
| 2024 |
Table showing the gamers’ age distribution from Under 18 to 65+:
| Age Group | Percentage of Gamers | Number of Gamers |
| Under 18 | 20% | 618 Million |
| 18 – 34 | 38% | 1.17 Billion |
| 35 – 44 | 14% | 433 Million |
| 45 – 54 | 12% | 371 Million |
| 55 – 64 | 9% | 278 Million |
| 65+ | 7% | 216 Million |
Gaming Industry Statistics:
- The gaming industry generated $159.3 billion in revenue in 2020.
- The global gaming market is projected to reach $218.7 billion in revenue by 2024.
- Mobile gaming accounts for the largest share of the gaming industry’s revenue.
- Esports is a rapidly growing sector within the gaming industry, with increasing viewership and revenue.
- The Asia-Pacific region holds the title of the largest regional market for gaming, with North America and Europe following closely behind.
Gaming industry’s revenue from 2017 to 2027:
| Year | Gaming Industry Revenue (in Billions) |
| 2017 | $108.9 |
| 2018 | $116.0 |
| 2019 | $131.0 |
| 2020 | $159.3 |
| 2021 | $174.9 |
| 2022 | $192.3 |
| 2023 | $206.7 |
| 2024 | $218.7 |
| 2025 | $230.9 |
| 2026 | $242.9 |
| 2027 | $255.7 |
Gamers’ Statistics By Device:
- Smartphones are the most popular gaming device, with 1.29 billion gamers worldwide using them to play video games.
- PC gaming also enjoys a substantial user base, with 676 million gamers opting for PCs as their primary gaming platform.
- Smartphone games hold a significant share of the gaming market, accounting for 40% of the overall market.
- Console games follow closely behind, with a 28% market share.
- PC games hold a considerable portion of the market as well, with a 21% share.
- Tablet games and browser PC games account for 9% and 2% of the market share, respectively.
Summarizing the gaming market by devices:
| Device | Share in Market |
| Smartphones | 40% |
| Console Games | 28% |
| PC Games | 21% |
| Tablet Games | 9% |
| Browser PC Games | 2% |
In terms of gaming platforms for game developers, PC remains the top choice. It holds a dominant 63% share among game developers.
Additionally, other platforms of considerable interest to developers include PlayStation 5, Android, iOS, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One (or One X), PlayStation 4 (or Pro), Nintendo Switch, Mac, Web Browser, VR Headset, Linux, and Google Stadia.
Top gaming platforms for game developers:
| Platform | Share of Game Developers (in %) |
| PC | 63 |
| PlayStation 5 | 31 |
| Android | 30 |
| iOS | 30 |
| Xbox Series X/S | 29 |
| Xbox One (or One X) | 22 |
| PlayStation 4 (or Pro) | 21 |
| Nintendo Switch | 20 |
| Mac | 18 |
| Web Browser | 10 |
| VR Headset | 7 |
| Linux | 3 |
| Google Stadia | 3 |
Gamer Subscriptions
- Globally, approximately 52% of gamers, equivalent to about 1.61 billion individuals, subscribe to at least one gaming service.
- In the US, console gamers (74%) are more likely to subscribe to a gaming service compared to PC gamers (66%).
- Extrapolating the data, it is estimated that around 2.29 billion console gamers and 2.04 billion PC gamers worldwide are likely to subscribe to a gaming service.
- Xbox Live, a popular gaming subscription service, has approximately 100 million users worldwide, showing significant growth from 39 million in early 2016.
- Sony’s PlayStation Plus, another prominent gaming subscription service, has garnered nearly 50 million subscribers (47.3 million) as of June 2022, experiencing more than a doubling in subscriber count since 2016 (20.8 million).
Gaming Subscription Service Users
| Gaming Subscription Service | User Count (as of 2022) |
| Xbox Live | Approximately 100 million |
| PlayStation Plus | 47.3 million |
Gamer Preferences:
Here are the main statistics on gamer preferences:
- Approximately 66% of gamers worldwide, which amounts to around 2.04 billion people, play video games primarily for relaxation.
- Other top reasons for playing video games include filling time during breaks or commutes (52%), seeking escapism and entertainment (51%), enjoying personal time (48%), solving problems and using logical thinking (37%), and finding comfort in familiar experiences (32%).
Top Reasons for Playing Video Games
| Reason | Share of Respondents | Number of Gamers (Global) |
| Unwind, relax, and decompress | 66% | 2.04 Billion |
| Fill time while taking a break, waiting, or commuting | 52% | 1.61 Billion |
| Escape and be highly entertained | 51% | 1.58 Billion |
| Spend time by myself | 48% | 1.48 Billion |
| Solve a problem, use my brain, and think logically | 37% | 1.14 Billion |
| Be comforted by something familiar | 32% | 0.99 Billion |
Top Video Game Genres Globally
| Type of Game | Share of Respondents | Number of Gamers (Global) |
| Casual games | 63% | 1.95 Billion |
| Action games | 39% | 1.21 Billion |
| Shooter games | 39% | 1.21 Billion |
| Racing games | 37% | 1.14 Billion |
| Family games | 33% | 1.02 Billion |
| Adventure games | 31% | 0.96 Billion |
These statistics showcase the widespread preference for relaxing, casual gaming experiences, while action and shooter games continue to captivate a significant portion of the gaming community globally.
Conclusion
The gaming industry has reached new heights, with over 3.2 billion gamers worldwide and a market value of $230 billion. Mobile gaming has exploded, with over 2.9 billion smartphone gamers. Console and PC gaming remain popular, and esports attract millions of viewers.
The industry is diverse, with nearly 41% of gamers being female. The Asia-Pacific region leads in revenue, and relaxation is the main reason for gaming, with casual games being the top choice. Gaming’s future looks bright with ongoing innovation and a growing player base.
