The PC Gaming market is expected to grow slower than the Console and Mobile game market in 2022, according to a report. It is still expected to have a +1.9% increase to $41 Billion this year, however. The majority of growth will come from existing live-service titles, as well as new games like Elden Ring and Modern Warfare 2.
A number of reasons were determined as contributing factors behind the PC market’s lack of growth in comparison to Console and Mobile in Newzoo’s report.
The first reason is high profile first-party releases, such as Horizon Forbidden West and Pokemon Arceus, which result in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Their lack of availability on PC leaves this segment of the market unable to capture a share of said revenue.
Secondly, there’s no major revenue to generate from ecosystem-driven subscriptions, such PlayStation Plus or Nintendo Switch Online on Consoles. Much like the Xbox family of consoles, Xbox Game Pass is available on PC, but it isn’t as closely integrated within the ecosystem like it is on Microsoft’s consoles.
Lastly, new software isn’t marketed as a product designed to run new hardware the way it is on consoles. Even though some users will purchase new software to push their new GPUs and other components, it will not be to the same degree as it will when purchasing software for a new console.
Browser games will continue to fall as more players migrate their spending and time to mobile devices, and as developers focus their attention on creating for mobile devices. Some mobile games are still supported via browser in order to make them more accessible to their dedicated fan base, though this isn’t enough to even out the player migration from web to mobile.
The Chinese market has played a major role in the acceleration of growth for the PC market. However, it is expected to decline somewhat year over year, a trend that will be more pronounced by 2024 as a result of the government’s gaming crackdown.
Despite all the aforementioned factors, the PC gaming market remains healthy, and major live-service games like the much-awaited Call of Duty Warzone 2 will help keep gamers playing and spending in 2023.
