The latest report published by Hamburg-based market intelligence firm yStats.com, “North America Digital Gaming Market 2023” summarizes the developments and emerging trends within the digital gaming market. Some key highlights of the report include total expenditure on gaming, the number of players, as well as the preferred gaming platform among gamers, along with information about other aspects of the gaming market.
The gaming market in North America, especially in the U.S., witnesses emerging trends such as the use of AR/VR, AI, and gaming in the Metaverse
With the advent of technology, the gaming market worldwide has undergone transformation, with new trends such as gaming in the Metaverse, socializing in gaming, as well as the use of AI and AR/VR, emerging within the market. With players wanting to go beyond just playing games to engaging in viewing gaming content, content creation, and attending gaming exhibitions/events, new business models such as blockchain gaming, cloud gaming, and play-to-earn are set to change the traditional gaming market. In the backdrop of these changes, the gaming market revenue saw an increasing trend starting in 2020 and is forecasted to grow at a single-digit CAGR between 2022 and 2025, reaching a value in billions of euros by 2025, as per the new yStats.com report.
In terms of revenue, North America was at the forefront, only second to Asia-Pacific, accounting for a share of more than one-fourth of the total gaming revenue as of 2022. The rise of these trends within the gaming market is also prompting brands and gaming companies to introduce new ways of monetization such as in-game purchases, the ability to trade virtual goods via NFTs, and subscription-based games. Socializing is becoming the central point of gaming, with more and more players engaging in the immersive universe, thus giving rise to the concept of gaming in the Metaverse. North America is estimated to be the leader of gaming in the Metaverse in the presence of tech-savvy gamers and gaming companies already exploring the Metaverse for gaming. Thus, more than half of surveyed gamers in the U.S. believed that the Metaverse is likely to change the gaming industry as of May 2022. Furthermore, more than half of surveyed Gen Z gamers in the U.S. intend to make money in the Metaverse as of February 2022, with a certain percentage of Gen Z gamers also expecting brands and gaming companies to offer services such as virtual stores to browse and buy products in the Metaverse during the same time period, according to the new yStats.com report.
The number of digital gamers is forecasted to surge between 2022 and 2026, despite declining consumer spending on video game products
The outbreak of the pandemic led to the acceleration of the overall entertainment industry, and gaming was no exception to this. Furthermore, the gaming industry worldwide as well as in North America is seeing changes in consumer expectations, technologically advanced trends, and new emerging business models. With the total expenditure on gaming in the U.S. reaching certain billions of euros, the highest spending came via content spending as of 2022, as stated in the new yStats.com report. Additionally, the gaming market in the U.S. is forecasted to see a rise in the number of digital gamers, reaching a number in the millions by 2026, with the highest number of digital gamers preferring mobile phones for gaming. Although more than three-quarters of surveyed gamers in the U.S. spent between 3 to 7 hours per week gaming, the gaming market saw a decline in consumer spending on video game products.
