by In context: The PC and console gaming market remains a lucrative market for developers and hardware vendors, despite the decline in computer sales in recent years. 2022 saw several major titles launch on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch, including Total War: Warhammer 3, Elden Ring, Hitman 3, Ghostwire: Tokyo, God of War, and the indie blockbuster Stray.
Market research firm Newzoo’s PC and Console Gaming Report 2023 reveals several interesting facts about the state of the global PC and console gaming industry. According to the report, total gaming revenue will reach $92.3 billion in 2022, down 2.2% from the previous year.
While console games accounted for 56.2% of sales, PC titles, both boxed and downloaded, accounted for 41.3% market share. The last 2.5% was spent on browser-based games on PCs.
The US was the world’s largest gaming market in 2022, accounting for $31.2 billion in revenue and 34% of global sales. The Asia-Pacific region came in at number two with $30.2 billion in spending, accounting for 33% of global revenue. Europe was the third largest market with $24.3 billion in gaming revenue, which was 26% of the global market.
Overall, the US and China were the two largest gaming markets in the world, accounting for nearly half (48%) of total global PC and console revenue.
One of the more notable pieces of information to emerge from the report is that average playtime has dropped by a whopping 23% between 2021 and 2022 on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. However, the report claims that the drop is more of a “corrective step” as people began transitioning back to normal lives after the pandemic.
One of the main reasons for last year’s drop in revenue was the postponement of several major releases due to the roadblocks caused by the pandemic. However, the industry is expected to get a big boost this year with the release of several big games like ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of a Kingdom’.
The report also noted that more AAA and AA publishers are moving to the subscription model as companies choose to release fewer titles and focus instead on extending the life of existing franchises, such as Fortnite, Minecraft and ROBLOX. .
The last major focus of the report is on the increasing gender equality in gaming. While PC and console gaming has always been male-dominated, things are changing for the better as more women take gaming seriously. According to the report, 40% of all gamers were female last year, making the market more equitable than ever.
