Gaming trends in 2021. Impact on the industry

The gaming industry's market size in 2020 is estimated to be $174.9 billion globally, with at least 20% growth expected by the end of 2021. According to the report, the industry will reach $256 billion by 2025 - that's $100 billion added in just 5 years. The gaming business is at an all-time high.

This rapid growth is due to several key trends that have changed the gaming industry over the past few years. Understanding their impact on the gaming market is critical to achieving success and high profits in this industry.

Now for the trends

Mobile and cloud games have become the strongest players of 2020. Mobile gaming revenue reached an estimated $77.2 billion worldwide in 2020 and is expected to exceed $102.8 billion by 2023. The leader in mobile game downloads was India, followed by the U.S., Russia and Brazil.

The impact of mobile gaming has led to many major gaming companies finding ways to make their games available on mobile devices as well, such as League of Legends: Wild Rift by Riot Games, which was released in December 2020.

Cloud games don't boast the same numbers as mobile games - the cloud game market was valued at less than $500,000 in 2019 - but cloud games are expected to grow at an annual rate of 47.9 percent from 2021 to 2027.

One of the biggest examples of cloud gaming in today's market, demonstrating the huge potential of this service, is Sony's PlayStation Now, which has more than 2.2 million paid subscribers as of April 2020. Cloud gaming offers video games on demand on most consoles and devices, allowing game developers and marketers to reach an even wider audience. In addition, cloud gaming allows users to stream games to multiple devices.

Asian countries tend to dominate in terms of overall revenue and growth of the gaming industry. Mobile gaming and cyber sports are the two biggest sources of revenue in Asian gaming culture. For example, the first and third largest mobile gaming markets are China and Japan, with revenues of $18 billion and $6.5 billion in 2019, respectively. There are more than 510 million cybersports fans in Asia - more than half of the world's numbers. The popularity of cybersports is growing in both Asia and North America and is expected to exceed 1 billion users in 2021.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on all industries, including gaming. Lockdowns, social distancing has brought more and more people into the digital space.

A recent study found that during the pandemic there was a 39% increase in monthly spending on video games. It also follows from the study that interest in fighting games, multiplayer online games like Battle Arena and games like Battle Royale has increased. In the U.S., this change was especially noticeable in the games of Battle Royale, which became popular thanks to Fortnite from Epic Games. They were up 143%.

In addition, games like dream sexworld have become a form of social communication in 2020. The ability to connect with friends, family or other gamers played an important role in the gaming industry during the pandemic. Games where players can interact and talk to each other have become the most sought after.

Interestingly, video games began to be used for community events, such as online concerts that viewers can access from home. A prime example of such a partnership is Travis Scott's concert in the game Fortnite. The in-game virtual concert garnered 12.3 million views. It has become one of the best events in online gaming.

In addition to the trends noted above, the way consumers choose to pay for access to games and related entertainment is also changing. With the majority of gamers now residing outside of the U.S. and Western Europe, game developers looking for new payment methods to support revenue growth.

One such method of payment is from a cell phone account. Telecom operators allow you to charge your purchases without using a card. A convenient and fast way, no more passwords or accounts. It makes it easy to process microtransactions in-game, and it's also comfortable for recurring payments. In 2018, content purchased through cellular carriers accounted for only 12% of all spending; by 2024, it's estimated to rise to 22%.