The global games market closed 2025 at $201.6 billion (+9.1% YoY), crossing the $200 billion threshold for the first time. The result came in above prior estimates, with PC delivering its strongest growth rate on record and mobile outperforming prior estimates on D2C, mini-game, and Tencent revenues. Console grew more modestly, held back by softer live-service performance and weaker-than-expected Nintendo ecosystem revenue.
PC sets the pace, console waits on GTA VI
PC delivered its strongest annual growth rate in Newzoo's dataset, reaching $43.6 billion (+12.0% YoY). The result was not driven by a single title but by a broad premium slate spanning price tiers: Battlefield 6, Monster Hunter Wilds, Peak, Path of Exile 2, ARC Raiders, and a wave of mid-priced releases collectively outpaced 2024's performance.
Console revenues reached $44.7 billion (+2.8% YoY), rebounding from 2024 as full-game spending and multi-game subscriptions offset declines in downloadable content and microtransaction revenues. The Nintendo Switch 2's launch, selling over 15 million units within its first seven months, reshaped the installed base and contributed meaningfully to the full-year result.
Mobile revenues reached $113.3 billion (+10.7% YoY), above prior estimates, even as global download volumes declined, pointing to a market growing through deepening monetization rather than expanding reach. Rising user acquisition costs added to the complexity: the cost per install rose 30% YoY in 2025 to $0.56 globally, and the paid-to-organic install ratio increased 61%, according to Adjust, signaling that organic discovery continues to erode.
Premium up, live service diverges by platform
Across both PC and console, premium spending strengthened in 2025.
Full-game spending. Full-game revenues grew by 25% YoY on PC and 8.1% YoY on console, as a broad release slate drove purchase activity across a wide range of price points, with no single release carrying the result on either platform.
Microtransactions. The picture diverged between platforms, reflecting a structural difference in live-service concentration.
- On PC, microtransaction revenues grew 9.1% YoY, led by Counter-Strike 2's rebound and Roblox's continued expansion.
- On console, microtransaction spending fell 4.6% YoY, driven by reduced engagement in Fortnite and Call of Duty. Console's base is more concentrated in fewer live-service franchises, making it more exposed when those titles soften.
- Console multi-game subscriptions. Revenues grew 10.2% YoY, driven by PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass price increases and a higher share of subscribers upgrading to premium tiers.
Five regions, one outlier: North America trails the global average
Every region grew in 2025, but North America, at 5.7% YoY, was the only one to fall below the global average.
- Asia-Pacific, at 47% of the global market, grew 9.9% YoY, with Japan and South Korea both outperforming global PC growth.
- Within the region, China grew below the APAC average, shaped by a strong first half and a softer H2 as growth moderated against a strong prior-year base.
- Europe grew 10.7% YoY, outperforming the global average on the back of a strong PC base and a favorable EUR/USD exchange rate. PC revenues grew 15.7% YoY, the highest regional PC growth rate in 2025, while mobile extended three consecutive years of above-global growth at 15.5% YoY, fueled by UA spending growth.
- North America, the second-largest region at 27% of global revenues, grew 5.7% YoY, below the global average, reflecting its heavier console skew and softer live-service performance from US-dominant franchises in 2025.
- The Middle East and Africa (MEA) was the fastest-growing region at 15.0% YoY, with Latin America also growing above the global average.
Newzoo forecasts the global games market growing at a 5.1% CAGR between 2025 and 2028, reaching $234.4 billion, with the rate shaped by competing forces: component cost pressure across all three platforms, GTA VI as the period's single decisive demand catalyst, and mobile's continued deepening of monetization.
Memory costs squeeze every platform
Memory prices have accelerated sharply into 2026, driven by AI infrastructure buildout competing for the same DRAM and NAND supply as consumer hardware. All three platforms feel it.
- On PC, rising hardware costs raise the entry barrier for newcomers and create friction for existing players looking to upgrade for technically demanding new releases. Near-term, the installed base provides structural insulation: 64% of 2025 PC playtime went to pre-2019 titles that require no hardware upgrade, and pay-to-play playtime surged around 18% YoY in Q1 2026.
- On console, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all raised hardware prices between 2025 and 2026. Next-generation launches, previously targeted for late 2027, face increasing schedule risk as elevated component costs raise bill-of-materials exposure at launch. Meaningful supply relief is unlikely before late 2027.
- On mobile, OEM price increases across major Android manufacturers have raised device costs into 2026, with global smartphone shipments falling 6% YoY in Q1 2026, according to Counterpoint. Free-to-play models provide near-term insulation, though the structural risk is most visible in growth markets where affordable mid-tier hardware drives new player acquisition.
GTA VI: the year's one decisive catalyst
Grand Theft Auto VI is the year's defining commercial catalyst, with structural implications well beyond its launch window.
- Newzoo forecasts console revenues to reach $46.9 billion in 2026 (+5.1% YoY), with Grand Theft Auto VI's November launch as the critical assumption; without it, or if the release slips, the platform would likely underperform year over year, a reading reinforced by Q1 2026, when console revenues fell as free-to-play and annualized title segments underperformed.
- Confirmed for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S only, the title should also drive current-generation console adoption, while multi-year GTA Online engagement sustains microtransaction and in-game subscription revenues through 2027–28.
PC: a record base, a lighter slate
The 2026 PC release slate is thinner than 2025's, and a higher comparison base compresses the year-over-year growth rate despite continued underlying momentum. Newzoo forecasts PC growth of 5.3% in 2026.
- China is a meaningful growth contributor: Blizzard titles enter their first full year of operation following their H2 2025 return, and Honor of Kings: World launched on PC in April 2026. Newzoo forecasts that China will outperform global PC growth and Western developed markets over the forecast period.
- A PC release of Grand Theft Auto VI, currently expected in 2027 though component cost pressures introduce risk of a slip into 2028, remains the forecast period's significant upside catalyst.
Mobile's growth runway extends to 2028
Newzoo forecasts mobile revenues to reach $121.1 billion in 2026 (+6.8% YoY), with Q1 2026 app-store data from AppTweak confirming momentum even before D2C and China Android revenues are counted. The deceleration from 2025's rate reflects the strength of the comparison base rather than structural weakening.
- Merge games and 4X strategy are scaling simultaneously, with Chinese publishers leading both genres through deep live-ops cadences and high-volume UA spend. In China, mini-game monetization is a third growth vector, continuing to expand above market-average rates.
- Direct-to-consumer channels are becoming a structural revenue component for publishers operating at scale. According to Appcharge, its annualized D2C transaction volume reached $1 billion in March 2026, up from $500 million in July 2025, while top publishers are still paying an estimated $41 million per day in app-store fees.