Games Revenue to Reach $215 Billion by 2027, Overtaking Pay TV and Cinema

Global consumer spending on games is set to reach $215 billion by 2027, according to Omdia. Following a 50% increase in game adaptation in 2022, the transmedia space continues to expand and profit as more video game franchises make their way to the large and small screen.

“Alongside the increasing number of games IP adaptations since the 1980s, the quality and consumer perception of this content has significantly improved in recent years. Streaming services and studios need more content to monetize their services and reach profitability and consumers are demanding more and more content,“ noted Maria Rua Aguete, Senior Director in Omdia’s Media and Entertainment practice. “The days of poor performing titles such as ‘Tomb Raider: 5.5’ or ‘House of the Dead: 2.1’, are long behind us. High-scoring TV series such as Netflix’s ‘The Witcher or HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ prove that quality, investment, and the writing across the adaptations are of a superior level.“

The number of titles available on US SVOD services surpassed 40,000 titles as of the third quarter of 2022. Programming spending in the US also grew 11% in 2022, reaching $122.4 billion. The research also ranked countries by spending on games-related content and services for the last ten years with the US, China, Japan, the UK, and South Korea taking the top five positions. Furthermore, Omdia’s research found the universe of gamers is much larger than that of cinema across all age groups. More than 50% of the 55-64 age demographic prefer gaming over cinema in the US while women lead in mobile gaming in the UK and Germany.

“As the hype and excitement surrounding the upcoming ‘Super Mario Bros.’ movie, one of the most popular videogame franchises scheduled to make its return to the big screen this April, the popularity of sci-fi series ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Stranger Things’ continue, it is no surprise that games revenue is expected to reach stratospheric levels thanks to a growing catalog of film and television adaptations,“ concluded Rua Aguete.