When it comes huge global entertainment, no one else does it quite like gaming. The appeal is easy to see – it is great fun, provides an increasingly social experience and also gives you the chance to play out situations you may never experience in life.
Maybe you are a mad football fan and always wanted to score that winning goal for the US in the World Cup Final? As a busy parent who hasn’t kicked a ball for years, this is not likely to happen. However, the magic of gaming means that you can experience this dream when playing on or offline. Even better, you can do this without having to deal with any injuries.
To give some context, the global games market generated over $100 billion in 2017! This is a staggering amount and shows just how popular this sector has become. Even people who did not play games a year ago may find themselves now reaching for their phones during their commute to work for a quick bit of fun.
But which sectors within gaming help bring in the most profit?
The most lucrative gaming sectors
Although you might think of gaming as one giant entity, it actually is made up of a few individual sectors. Here are the ones that make it rain:
- Online gambling – This sector is one of the real gaming success stories and shows just how much online gaming has made an impact. You no longer need to actually visit a land-based casino to enjoy your favorite game now. Simply log on to an online casino and choose from a huge selection of games. Estimated to be worth around $50 billion currently, this niche is a big player.
- eSports – This is fast becoming a major player as well and generated a hefty $756 million in 2017. eSports sees teams of payers battle it out on games online or at actual real-life tournaments to see which team wins. It is also a huge draw for spectators who tune in online or turn up in person at the events to see their favorite players.
- Mobile gaming – When it comes to how you play games now, mobile gaming is the big winner. The ability to play quality games wherever you are and in an ad-hoc fashion is where mobile gaming really scores points. In the last set of figures on the games market in 2017, mobile gaming accounted for over $40 billion in terms of revenue.
- Consoles – Of course, it must be said that with online gaming and the increased use of mobile devices, console gaming has not died off. Indeed, physical console units and offline video games still make up a large part of the annual revenue that gaming sees each year.
Gaming looks set to grow into the future
One thing that is certain is that the whole gaming sector will continue to grow in the future. As the individual niches like online gambling and mobile gaming increase themselves, they will help push revenue figures even higher. Many industry experts are forecasting a colossal annual global gaming revenue of even greater proportion in the coming years.
