Newzoo: PC and Console Market in 2023

Wrap-up of the PC & Console current market state by Newzoo experts.

Market

• In 2022, there were 1.1 billion PC gamers and 611 million console gamers worldwide.

• The revenue from PC and console segments in 2022 amounted to $92.3 billion, which is 2.2% lower than in 2021.

• According to Newzoo, by the end of 2022, 172.1 million Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series S|X units were sold. In 2023, this number will increase to 212.9 million, mainly due to the PS5.

Segments

• The console segment accounts for $51.8 billion in revenue (56.2% of the total), PC games account for $38.2 billion (41.3%), and browser-based PC games makeup $2.3 billion (2.5%). They have always been categorized separately.

• In 2022, only the PC segment grew by 1.8%. The console segment declined by 4.2%, and browser games on PC decreased by 16.7% year-on-year.

• From 2015 to 2022, the PC and console market grew at an average annual growth rate of 5.8%. During this period, the console segment outpaced PC growth by two times (+7.8% CAGR vs. +3.6% CAGR).

Regions

• North America was the largest region for PC and consoles in 2022, accounting for $31.2 billion in revenue (34% of the total). The Asia-Pacific region was slightly behind, with revenue of $30.2 billion (33%). Europe followed with $24.3 billion (26%), Latin America with $4.2 billion (5%), and the MENA region with $2.5 billion (3%).

• The United States ($29 billion) and China ($15.2 billion) are the leading markets for PC and consoles. Among the regions, MENA (+2.9% YoY) and Latin America (+0.7% YoY) showed growth.

Consumer Preferences

• Gamers spent over 100 billion hours on PC/console games in 2022.

• On average, a player's lifetime value (LTV) in the USA on PC or consoles is over $200.

• Microtransactions account for 31-32% of all revenue on PC and consoles. The share of DLC revenue on consoles is higher (13% vs. 7% on PC).

Games

• Fortnite had the highest average Monthly Active Users (MAU) on Xbox and PlayStation in 2022. On PC, it was only surpassed by ROBLOX and Warzone 2.0 (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II).

• Adventure games are the most extensive genre (83% of players) on PC and consoles, but players spend only 12% of their time on these games. Shooter games (20%) and Battle Royale games (17%) lead in playtime, reaching 77% and 74% of the audience, respectively.

• 13 out of the 20 most popular games on PC and consoles are Free-to-Play (F2P). Three games (Overwatch 2, Fall Guys, and The Sims 4) transitioned to this model in 2022.

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