20 essential online gaming stats for 2024
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Online gaming is everywhere, whether you realise it or not.
On our phones, tablets, TVs, PCs, laptops, and consoles, gaming is a billion-pound industry, and online gaming is a significant and growing subset of that industry.
From Candy Crush to Call of Duty, online gaming comes in so many different shapes, sizes, genres, platforms, and styles. Online gaming is fun, and can bring people together over the love of interactive media, but it’s not without its controversy. Violent content, unmoderated online chats, and a poor understanding of the industry can all cause problems for gamers young and old.
But what do the numbers actually tell us about the world of online gaming? Keep reading to find out…
What is Online Gaming, and Who Uses it?
- In 2021, consumer spending in the video gaming sector reached $60.4 billion
- The most common age demographic for UK online gamers is 12-15 years old, with 76% of people this age stating that they play online games.
- 29% of young adults who game say they play online with people they don’t know outside of the gaming world.
- Nearly 90% of video game sales happen digitally, not in stores.
- 41% of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners are female – despite some stereotypes about gender disparity among gamers, the number of women who own gaming consoles is double what it was 30 years ago.
The Rise of Online Gaming in 2024
- The global gaming industry is expected to be worth $321 billion by 2026.
- Online gaming revenue grew from $135.4 billion in 2020 to $176.06 billion in 2023.
- Mobile gaming revenue increased by 7.3% in 2021 to reach $93.2 billion. s forecasting they will reach $218.7 billion by 2024.
- Online gaming research by Ofcom found that the average gamer’s time spent playing video games was 7.5 hours per week.
- With all that said, 75% of parents whose children actively game online are worried their child will access inappropriate content.
Commercial Streaming – Turning a Hobby into a Career
- In Q3 of 2023, 7.6 billion hours of live content were watched across all platforms.
- 27% of internet users watch live streaming content on a weekly basis – this is all streams, not just gaming streams, but still shows a real appetite for the medium.
- Video games still make up a big part of the overall streaming market though. Demographic research of those who watch live streams shows they are 21% more likely to be gamers and 62% more likely to be interested in esports than an average consumer.
- The gaming livestream market is anticipated to grow at a rate of 9.28% between 2023 and 2028, resulting in a projected market volume of $18.22 billion.
- Fortnite is the most streamed game ever, and was streamed by over 4.5 million people on Twitch between December 2022 and December 2023.
E-Sports and the Elite Online Gaming Industry
- The total market value of the Esports industry was over $1.6 billion in 2023.
- As of May 2021, Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore was the most viewed Esports event with 5.41 million peak viewers.
- Estimates show that over half of Esports views come from the Asia Pacific region – around 57% of international views.
- Esports global market revenue fell from $957.5 million in 2019 to $947.1 million in 2020, likely as a result of the pandemic, but the figures above show it’s back on top and only continuing to rise in 2024!
- The largest ever prize in esports history was the 2021 Dota2 The International tournament, with a combined prize pot of $40 million, the majority of which went to the winning Team Spirit.
At Embryo, we’re always keeping an eagle eye on the wider market, not just our own! Gaming and online gaming are growing at a rapid pace, and our team is here to help your business grow and succeed in this industry.
To learn more, just get in touch, we’ll be happy to help.
