PC Games Market Definition
The PC games market consists of sales of PC video games and related services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that produce video games, including businesses that are involved in design, documentation, installation and support services, producing and distributing video games. Companies in this industry undertake operations such as the design, development, publication, distribution, and monetization of video game software on PC platform only.
A video game is a computerized game that can be played on devices such as personal computers (PCs), mobile phones or gaming consoles. Video games are generally categorized into computer games (PC games), mobile games and console games. The market covered in this report includes personal computer/laptop-based games only.
PC Games Market Size
The global PC games market reached a value of nearly $28,733.3 million in 2019, having declined at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -0.56% since 2015. Market size in the historic period was supported by the rise in disposable incomes, increase in in-game purchases and freemiums offerings, and rising numbers of live streamers and gaming influencers. Factor that negatively affected growth in the historic period was stringent regulatory policies for PC games.
The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 0.26% to nearly $29,029.1 million by 2023, to $29,194.4 million in 2025 at a CAGR of 0.28% and to $29,661.5 million in 2030 at a CAGR of 0.32%.Going forward, use of internet and facilitation of cross-platform publishing and play will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the PC games market in the future include growing privacy concerns, and regulatory restrictions to curb pc games addiction.
PC Games Market Drivers
The key drivers of the PC Games market include:
Cross-Platform Publishing And Play
Companies in the PC games market are launching games which are cross-platform publishing and play, and make gaming more flexible for users. Cross-platform publishing gives players the ability to play the same video games on different platforms through progress retention. Similarly, cross-platform play is a characteristic of a video game which enables gamers to use different gaming platforms such as console, mobile and PC to play with each other simultaneously. In many cases, these cross-platform games are restricted within the respective publisher’s platforms. For instance, some games in the RPGs series Monster Hunter are cross-platform games between Nintendo’s platforms such as the 3DS, Wii U and the Switch. The increase in cross-platform gaming can be attributed to the development of scripting languages, software libraries and game engines allowing PC games companies to efficiently use platform-specific details of the users. For instance, Microsoft is expanding Xbox Live’s cross-platforms from 400 million to over 2 billion to include iOS, Android and Switch in 2019. Similarly, Hero Siege – an RPG published by Panic Art Studios which was available for cross-platform play between PC, Mac, mobile and Switch, was extended to include PS4 in 2018. , , , PC based game players are seen to have a competitive advantage over players using a console or a mobile due to additional features in game settings that improves visibility. These additional features in the PC based games are expected to drive the demand for PC based video games in the forecast period.
PC Games Market Restraints
The key restraints on the PC Games market include:
Regulatory Restrictions to Curb PC Games Addiction
The addiction of video games has increased among children in the last few years, mainly due to the widespread availability of the internet and video games. Video games can have adverse effects on children which are sometimes life threatening. Many countries are imposing regulatory restrictions to control the video game addiction among children and this can hinder the growth of the PC games market in the forecast period. For instance, in 2019, the Chinese government has announced to impose a curfew on online gaming for minors. Minors will be banned from playing online games between 22:00 and 08:00 hours and only 90 minutes of gaming will be allowed in each day in weekdays and 3 hours of gaming will be allowed in weekends and holidays.
PC Games Market Trends
Major trends influencing the PC games market include:
Adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) And Augmented Reality (AR) Technologies
Video game developers are increasingly adopting VR and AR technologies to enhance players’ gaming experiences. VR includes a computer-generated simulated environment, usually with auditory and visual feedback. ARprovides an interactive experience by integrating computer-generated information with real-life objects. According to the VRDC VR/AR Innovation report published in 2017, 78% of AR, VR and mixed reality developers were focusing on developing games integrated with these technologies. For instance, Half-Life: Alyx is a brand-new game in the Half-Life universe designed exclusively for PC virtual reality systems. Major companies developing games with AR and VR technologies include Niantic, Owlchemy Labs, Unity Technologies and Ubisoft.
Independent Developers And Publishers
To improve their profits and recognition in the industry, role-playing games (RPGs) publishers and developers are moving towards being less dependent on distribution platforms or development studios. Traditionally, game developers signed contracts with large publishing companies to receive funding and gain recognition and exposure in the market under the companies’ brands. However, the developers are now increasingly partnering with the publishers who focus on indie (independent) developers. Further, publishers are also becoming less dependent on digital distribution platforms such as Steam and are establishing their own studios to provide aid to the indie developers by not claiming their IP rights. Independent RPGs publishers include Versus Evil, Team17 Group and Kongregate.
Opportunities And Recommendations In The PC Games Market
Opportunities – The PC games market size will gain the most in China at $211.8 million. Market-trend-based strategies for the PC games market include focusing on integrating AR and VR technologies in games to capitalize the market, offering game software services on the cloud with pay-per-usage payment models, and focusing on in-game advertising to boost revenue. Player-adopted strategies in the PC games industry include strengthening PC games business through the expansion of product portfolio, and mergers and acquisitions and developing new video game franchises for customers.
Recommendations – To take advantage of these opportunities, The Business Research Company recommends the PC games companies to consider adopting AR and VR, expanding in emerging markets, offering competitive priced products, and leveraging social media to maximize reach, among other strategies.
PC Games Market Segmentation
The PC games market is segmented by type, by type of genre, and by geography.
By Type-
The PC games market can be segmented by type into
- a) Online microtransaction
- b) Digital
- c) Physical
The Online microtransaction games market was the largest segment of the PC games market, accounting for 83.48% of the total in 2019. It was followed by digital games, and physical games. Going forward, the Online microtransaction games segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the PC games market.
By Type Of Genre -
The PC games market can be segmented by type of genre into
- a) Action
- b) Shooter
- c) Sport
- d) Role Playing
- e) Fighting
- f) Adventure
- g) Racing
- h) Other
- i) Strategy
The action games was the largest segment of the PC games market by application, accounting for $7,874.0 million or 27.4% of the total market in 2019. The shooter games market is expected to be the fastest-growing segment going forward at a CAGR of 0.33%.
By Geography- The PC games market is segmented into
- o North America
- USA
- o Western Europe
- UK
- Germany
- France
- o Asia Pacific
- China
- Japan
- India
- Australia
- Indonesia
- South Korea
- o Eastern Europe
- Russia
- o South America
- Brazil
- o Middle East
- o Africa
Western Europe was the largest region in the global PC games market, accounting for 31.72% of the total in 2018. It was followed by North America, Asia Pacific, and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the PC games market will be South America and Africa.
PC Games Competitive Landscape
Major Competitors are:
- • Tencent Holdings Limited
- • Activision Blizzard, Inc.
- • NetEase, Inc.
- • Sony Corporation
- • Electronic Arts Inc.
Other Competitors Include:
- • Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
- • Ubisoft Entertainment SA
- • Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.
- • Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
- • Konami Holdings Corporation
- • Virtuos Holdings Pte. Ltd
- • TA Games Studio
- • Zeus Interactive Co., Ltd
- • Happy Elements Technology
- • Beijing Babeltime Technology
- • 99Games
- • Apar Games
- • PUBG Corporation
- • Griptonite Games India Private Limited
- • Game Freak Inc
- • Creatures Inc
- • KLab Co., Ltd
- • Aiming Inc
- • Keywords Studio
- • Sumo Digital
- • Team17 Digital Limited Frontier Developments
- • Codemasters
- • XSEED Games
- • Capcom
- • Microsoft Studios
- • Gameloft
- • Valve Corporation
- • Bethesda Softworks
- • Nintendo
- • Sega
- • Koei Tecmo Games
- • Daedalic Entertainment
- • Headup Games
- • BUKA Entertainment
- • Factory Online
- • Ambidexter
- • Mail.Ru Group
- • Alawar Entertainment
- • Nival
- • GSC Game World
- • Action Forms
- • Meridian 93
- • Supercell,
- • Elex Technology
- • OKAM Studio
- • VOX Game Studio
- • Hoplon
- • Aquiris Game Studio
- • Efecto Studios
- • Etermax
- • Bamtang Games
- • Maysalward
- • Wixel Studios
- • Nezal Entertainment
- • Tahadi Games
- • Celestial Games
- • Kuluya
- • Thoopid
- • Maliyo Games
- • Leti Games