Global Games Market Set for $189B in 2025: Newzoo Report

The global games market is holding steady in 2025, but the rules of the game are changing. Newzoo’s annual report shows the industry is still growing, just not at the wild pace of the pandemic boom. Companies are learning to do more with less, balancing blockbuster game launches with shifting player expectations. Let’s break down what’s changing, what’s holding strong, and where the next big opportunities could be.

After years of turbocharged expansion post-pandemic, the global games market is settling into a new chapter: steadier growth and higher competition. Newzoo’s 2025 Global Games Market Report shows that while industry revenue will rise 3.4% to $188.8 billion this year, leaders are adapting to a more mature landscape and looking closely at player habits, platform trends, and regional variations to fuel future gains.

Asia-Pacific remains the industry’s powerhouse, contributing nearly half of global gaming revenue at $87.6 billion and accounting for 1.9 billion of the world’s 3.58 billion players. However, this region’s pace is slowing which is a clear signal of market saturation in cornerstones like China and Japan. China, in particular, will see a 3.1% year-over-year revenue increase, notable for its scale but a sharp dip from years of double-digit growth. Rising Steam adoption and returning Activision Blizzard titles contribute, yet the high-growth days are gone as innovation and competition reshape the market.

Mobile gaming continues to dominate the revenue pie with $103 billion expected globally, remaining the access point for 83% of all gamers. Still, mobile’s hypergrowth days are largely behind it, especially in Asia’s mature markets. Privacy rules, regulatory changes, and app store shakeups have cooled the segment’s explosive years, and Newzoo notes that Western markets are now a bigger part of mobile’s growth story.

In contrast, console gaming is having a moment in 2025. Revenues will rise 5.5% as new hardware launches like the Nintendo Switch 2 and a robust slate of AAA releases reinvigorate the segment. PC is stable, with $39.9 billion in revenues, driven by momentum in China and Japan. However, it’s also feeling pressure as aging live-service titles struggle in the West, prompting publishers to lean on blockbuster releases and premium content strategies. Across both premium segments, a shift away from pure volume to value-centered models is clear: it’s now about bigger hits, smarter pricing, and deep community engagement.

While Asia-Pacific dominates the numbers, Latin America and the Middle East & Africa are outpacing it for growth rates with 6% and 7% jumps, respectively, even if they represent much smaller absolute revenue bases. Europe, too, remains a strong market at $33.1 billion, offering diversification and new opportunities in an industry that can’t rely on any one region for expansion.

On a player level, growth has plateaued: 3.58 billion people will play games in 2025, more than 60% of all online users, but the share is flattening across most regions. The days of mass gains through new player conversion are waning, so the industry’s future will revolve around retention and long-tail monetization strategies. Multi-device play, cross-platform ecosystems like Roblox, and early access game models are no longer fringe. They’re central to capturing and sustaining engagement, especially with Gen Alpha now entering the mix as “true digital natives.”

Looking ahead, the global games market is expected to reach $206.5 billion by 2028. Console and PC will gradually shrink the gap with mobile, powered by tentpole releases, hardware refreshes, and new models of live service and player-generated content. The next phase is defined less by “more players” and more by “deeper engagement,” as companies bank on franchise-building, smarter post-launch support, and innovations in player monetization to secure ongoing loyalty.

For brands, publishers, and anyone following game industry economics, Newzoo’s 2025 forecast is clear: growth remains, but the competition for player time and spending is fiercer than ever before.