The Future Looks Bright for the Gaming Industry
Calling all gamers! The gaming industry, though not a new vertical, is due to experience explosive growth in units and computational density. The global gaming console market reached an estimated $51 billion in 2020. The market is expected to grow to $86 billion by 2026, but that does not include the burgeoning 3D gaming market; this growth is at a minimum nine percent CAGR average. Recently, an exciting turn of events predicted by industry analysts may have you seeing a swing downward before growth.
Consoles battled Steam, and Steam Won
The gaming audience is becoming diverse and more adults are playing; thus, the gaming industry is growing thanks partly to the smartphone industry. Unlike early Gen X-ers, emerging generations are reluctant to retire from their childhood hobbies. At PCX, we don’t think anyone could have foreseen that a software platform would have so much impact on the gaming industry, let alone be a rival to consoles. Polygon explains, “Steam has 120 million monthly active users, more than PlayStation Network. It’s also more than the lifetime sales of PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Switch. Within a couple of years, it could easily eclipse PlayStation 2’s all-time record of 155 million.” So, while consoles are in no way being retired–Steam is giving the market a run for its money.
Gaming Industry Insights for 2022
Steam is pushing forward as a growing industry for several reasons. From the inexpensive games to the demographic it targets, like women, Steam is Queen, to consoles. According to Forbes, “A little more than 40% of gamers are, in fact, women.” Because women tend to play games on their phones and computers, the gaming industry wins. Some analysts believe this growth is due to the pandemic when gaming was popular during worldwide lockdowns.
CTech recently interviewed Assaf Vaknin, Industry Head at Google Israel, who stated that the external environment has changed, so the predictions for gaming could take a short downturn. “To our delight, Israel and the world are back to normal. But we quickly learned that this is a new normal of rising inflation and interest rates, and a war in Europe. All these changes affected the gaming industry. According to the research company Newzoo, the industry is expected to shrink by 6% in 2022, for the first time since Newzoo started measuring it. But on the positive side, the industry is expected to grow next year, and the market should reach $117 billion within five years.”
Could Crypto Currency Move Gaming Forward?
Due to the growth in gaming predicted for the next five years and beyond, does this mean we will see cryptocurrency become a significant player in the industry? Gamers have already been using cryptocurrency to make secure payments for digital assets. Most recently, players can be paid an income for longer playtimes on various blockchain platforms. Of course, the in-game currency has become increasingly popular, where cryptocurrencies are used for trading items such as weapons.
However, there are other ways to pay for entertainment in gaming. Forbes tells us, “These figures alone serve to explain the reasons for paying attention to this entertainment industry. Companies like Ugami have decided to launch a debit card for gamers with benefits and features focused on the gamer community.” The debit cards are available for teens, so long as a parent or guardian fills out the banking forms. With banking and cryptocurrencies being so supportive of the industry, there’s no limit to gaming, and we will continue to see it flourish.
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