Since the advent of the internet, the digital gaming landscape has shifted online. This includes video games, casino games and mobile games. Let’s take a look at some of the different categories of online gaming, and some statistics to help you make sense of how the online gaming universe stacks up.
Some numbers to start with
In the US, the online gaming market is estimated to rope in $17,141 million in 2020 alone. There is a real possibility that this estimate is going to end up trumped when measured retrospectively at the end of the year. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the online gaming market has seen a distinct and sharp increase in both the number of players playing online and the number of hours these players are spending while playing online. The initial estimate of $17,141 million did not account for this and so there is a real possibility that it going to end up a very low – ball number.
Revenue generated by the online gaming sector is expected to grow at a rate of 1% over the next four years from 2020 through to 2024. User penetration too is forecasted to rise to 13% by 2024 from the current 11.8% in 2020.
Globally, some of the main online gaming markets are China and the US. The Chinese market is bigger than the US market with regards to revenue.
How many people around the world play online games?
Let’s get to a number that really matters, and what most people would be interested in knowing – How many people play online games? Well, as of 2020 there is estimated to be 887.3 million users worldwide and that is forecasted to grow to 1001.9 million users by 2024.
In terms of the age groups, the largest chunk of players (37%) fall between 25-34 years old and the 35-44 years age group makes up more players than the 18-24 years age group, interestingly enough.
Mobile Gaming Online
Of the different categories of online gaming, mobile gaming is the most recent channel to enter the segment and has taken the online gaming market by storm. This high smartphone penetration is a global phenomenon and is advancing the concept of online gaming on the go. Mobile gaming developers produce highly engaging games where players can make in – game purchases to unlock additional features and functionalities.
This trend in premium contents and upgrades is causing a decline in the attractiveness factor of traditional online games.
As you have probably heard of, Battle Royale themed games like PUBG and Fortnite have become massive hits and are heavily influencing the online gaming markets future.
PUBG reportedly has a total of over 400 million users, and an average of 50 million users play every day.
Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, stated in March of 2019 that Fortnite had amassed 250 million users and counting.
Online Casino Gaming
One of the biggest contributors to the online gaming market is the online gambling market, specifically, online casinos. The online gambling market in 2019 was estimated to be worth a whopping $53.7 billion globally, but this of course includes sports betting and other online gambling activities that do not classify as online games.
Online casino games on the other hand, are certainly online games with a real money component to it. In fact, numerous online casinos also offer free play versions of their games to players which is further creating growth opportunities for the market.
Popular online casino games include online poker, video slots, online blackjack, roulette, etc.
The progressive jackpot Mega Fortune paid out $11.7 million to a lucky winner few years back, and this is one of the biggest wins in online casino gaming history till date. If you want to give yourself a chance of getting lucky and winning a life changing amount at an online casino, check out these flash casinos where signing up and getting started playing is quick and easy.
The best thing about online casinos is that there are a lot of them, and in order to compete for market share, online casinos resort to promotions and bonuses (especially for new players) which means that when you sign up, you are going to have some goodies to look forward to.
Online PC and console gaming
PC gaming was one of the first digital gaming categories to use a network and allow multiplayer games. It started with gaming on Local Area Networks and went on to playing with players from all over the world using the internet.
Since then, console gaming like PlayStation and Xbox have also come out with ‘Live’ versions. PlayStation Live and Xbox Live, namely. Here you can experience playing as part of a team with some of the most advanced online multiplayer gaming technology in terms of graphics and engagement. These are cloud based, cross – device, multiplayer platforms.
One of the latest innovations in the world of online gaming was unveiled at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in 2019. Google’s Stadia – a cloud gaming service. This is a subscription-based gaming service that you can access through the Google Chrome web browser on Desktops, Pixel Smartphones, and other supported Android smartphones.
You’ll have access to a variety of games to play and they will be served to you live via one of the thousands of data centers the company has across the globe. This can support 4k resolution at 60 frames per second and high dynamic range.
The future of online gaming looks very exciting indeed.
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