PC Gaming Revenue to Overtake Consoles by 2028 per Newzoo Report

The battle for gaming supremacy is officially shifting toward the keyboard and mouse. After more than a decade of consoles dominating the financial leaderboards, a massive turning point has arrived: PC gaming revenue is on track to surpass console revenue by 2028. According to the newly released PC and Console Gaming Report by industry analytics firm Newzoo, a surge in global players, diverse pricing models, and shifting generational habits are pushing the PC platform to the absolute top of the market. 

This marks the first notable industry expansion since the pandemic slowdown, kicking off a more measured growth cycle that analysts expect to continue for years to come. The financial data highlights a clear difference in momentum between the two major platforms. Newzoo projects that PC revenue will experience a compound annual growth rate of 6.6% between 2025 and 2028, while console gaming trails behind at just 4.4%. Overall, the broader industry is looking remarkably healthy. 

The combined PC and console market reached $88.3 billion in 2025, representing a solid 7% year-over-year increase. Analysts forecast this combined market will climb to $94.3 billion in 2026 before ultimately swelling to a massive $103.7 billion by 2028. 

Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz at the GDC Festival of Gaming, Newzoo director of consulting Ben Porter explained that PC growth is uniquely slow and steady. Unlike consoles, which rely heavily on hardware generational cycles that dictate spending behaviors, the PC ecosystem continuously builds momentum.

Global PC Gamers Approach One Billion

A rapidly expanding and highly engaged global audience is doing the heavy lifting to support these numbers. By 2028, the PC player base is forecasted to exceed a staggering one billion users. This surge is heavily fueled by regional expansion, particularly in East Asia. Porter noted that while China is bringing in a massive volume of players with a lower average revenue per user, countries like Japan and South Korea are discovering Steam in a significant capacity, bringing high-spending players into the PC fold. 

Furthermore, engagement outside the top 20 PC titles also rose from 33% in 2022 to 42% in 2025, showing that players are eager to explore a wider variety of experiences rather than just sticking to the biggest hits.

Much of the PC's current momentum is fueled by a diversifying ecosystem and highly dynamic pricing that reaches far beyond major franchises. Premium games were the main growth driver on PC in 2025, accounting for 29% of total revenue with an 11.8% increase across AAA, AA, and indie releases. Interestingly, Newzoo identified the $30 to $50 range as the cross-platform sweet spot for pricing. 

However, the PC thrives even further down the price ladder. Titles under $30 are exploding in popularity, with 26 games in this segment surpassing $5 million in revenue in 2025, up from 17 the year prior. Even more dramatically, the sub-$30 category for brand-new PC releases saw a massive 156% growth, proving that PC gamers are highly receptive to affordable, innovative titles.

Consoles Depend on AAA Releases

On the other side of the hardware divide, the console market faces a much stiffer reality. Consoles remain heavily tied to premium blockbuster releases and expensive hardware sales. In 2025, premium titles accounted for about half of all console revenues, marking a 12% year-over-year rise. However, games priced at $50 or higher still account for nearly 80% of that premium segment, showcasing a reliance on expensive, high-stakes releases in mature markets like North America and Japan.

Meanwhile, console microtransaction revenue dipped slightly, reflecting pressure across live-service ecosystems, while subscription revenues saw only modest gains driven mostly by price hikes and tier upgrades rather than massive user growth.

The impact of subscriptions, particularly Xbox Game Pass, is also complicating the console financial picture. Newzoo found that while $50+ titles remain the most popular on consoles, sales are flattening on platforms like Xbox. Porter pointed out that Game Pass dramatically reduces player friction, allowing users to try different experiences easily.

 However, the side effect of day-one launches on the service is that Xbox's raw sales charts look remarkably subdued, with Game Pass actively kicking major releases off the top-five sales leaderboards. Nonetheless, Porter suggested that this strategy can serve as a marketing loss leader, generating crucial virality and buzz that boosts a game's performance on other platforms.

Across both PC and console, a few heavy hitters still dominate the overall playtime charts. Roblox stood as the most-played franchise last year, boasting a staggering 52% increase in playtime, followed closely by Fortnite and Call of Duty. Battlefield also made a notable return to the top 20, even as several legacy franchises saw broad declines. 

Ultimately, while the biggest games continue to thrive everywhere, it is the PC's agile, widespread, and price-dynamic ecosystem that is currently crowning it as the financial future of gaming.