Global Online Game Market Overview

Market Size

The global market size of online games was USD 70.3 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 90.3 billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 6.5%. The overall global online game market is expected to continue to grow, primarily due to the advancement of hardware and Internet technology, interactivity and social networking opportunities, and a diversity of game themes and game play styles.

The web game market has experienced significant growth in the past, primarily due to the popularity of social media platforms. The mobile game market began to grow since 2010,driven by the advancement of mobile technology. The global market size of web games wasps 4.8 billion in 2016 and is expected to remain relatively stable through 2020. The global market size of mobile games was USD 33.9 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 50.6billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 10.5%. The mobile game market became the largest market in the global online game market in 2016. The following chart shows the historical and forecast global market size of online games by segment for the periods indicated.

North America

North America has the largest video game market in the world in 2016. The market size of online games in North America was USD 17.6 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 21.5 billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 5.1%. North America’s online game market demonstrated a strong growth trend since the economic recession and is expected to have a higher growth rate than those of other segments of the video game market, primarily due to the development of both social network and mobile devices in North America.

In 2016, the market size of North America’s client games, web games and mobile games was USD 7.7 billion, USD 1.2 billion and USD 8.5 billion, respectively. With the rising popularity of the mobile Internet, North America’s web game market and mobile game market experienced rapid growth, primarily due to (1) the high purchasing power of North America’s online game users contributing approximately 90.0% of the revenue generated in its video game market; and(2) North America’s traditional position as the largest client game market, where a large number of client game users flow into the web game and mobile game markets. The following chart shows the historical and forecast market size of online games by segment in North America for the periods indicated.

Europe

The market size of online games in Europe was USD 14.8 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 18.9 billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 6.3%, which will be primarily driven by the high purchasing power of European users and the high acceptance level of mobile devices in Europe. European users have the highest consuming capacity in the world. In 2016,the market size of European client games, web games and mobile games was USD 6.5 billion, USD 1.0 billion and USD 7.1 billion, respectively. The web game market and mobile game market in Europe are expected to be USD 1.0 billion and USD 10.6 billion in 2020, respectively. The following chart shows the historical and forecast market size of online games by segmenting Europe for the periods indicated.

Asia

The market size of online games in Asia currently accounts for nearly half of the market size of global online games. The market size of online games in Asia was USD 35.1 billion in2016 and is expected to reach USD 44.9 billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 6.3%. The development of online games in China, South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia is significant. The mobile game market is currently the largest market of online games in Asia. In 2016, the market size of Asia’s mobile game was USD 16.9 billion and is expected to reach USD 25.2billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 10.5%, primarily due to (1) the popularity of low-priced mobile devices, and (2) the vast user base in Asia. The following chart shows the historical and forecast market size of online games by segment in Asia for the periods indicated.

OVERVIEW OF CHINA’S ONLINE GAME MARKET

China is currently the largest online game market in Asia. China’s online games have made considerable progress both in terms of user base and revenue. China’s online game operators have passed beyond the phase of introducing online games from other countries to the Chinese market and have dominated the Chinese market with the self-developed games and have begun to publish online games in overseas markets. In the web game market, certain Chinese operators have almost monopolized the supply of all web games in Southeast Asia. The market size of online games in China was USD 24.6 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 31.6 billion in 2020,representing a CAGR of 6.5%. The web game market inching has slowed down in recent years after a rapid growth. The market size of web games inching was USD 1.7 billion in 2016 and is expected to decrease to USD 1.6 billion in 2020. In2016, the market size of mobile games in China became significantly larger than that of client games in China. Following the significant growth in 2014, the mobile game market in China has gradually shifted its focus from increasing the user base to increasing the monetization level. The market size of mobile games in China was USD 11.9 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 17.7 billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 10.4%. The following chart shows the historical and forecast market size of online games by segment in China for the periods indicated.