S&P forecasts global game content revenue to reach $229.1bn by 2030
S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan projects global game content revenue will grow from $204.4 billion in 2025 to $229.1 billion in 2030, a 2.3% compound annual growth rate. The forecast attributes growth to publishers focusing more on monetizing existing players through live-service retention, premium content, subscriptions, and in-game purchases, while noting risks such as higher hardware prices, inflation, development costs, and long production cycles. PC and Asia-Pacific are expected to lead, cloud gaming is seen as the fastest-growing segment, and console revenue is expected to benefit from Grand Theft Auto 6 and Switch 2 despite weakness in Xbox hardware.
S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan expects worldwide game content revenue to climb from $204.4bn in 2025 to $229.1bn in 2030, a 2.3% yearly compound rate. The firm ties this to publishers extracting more value from current players through live-service retention, premium offerings, subscriptions, and in-game spending.
PC revenue is projected to rise from $42.25bn to $49.23bn, a 3.1% CAGR, while cloud gaming grows fastest, from $6.12bn to $9.71bn at 9.7%. Asia-Pacific should remain the largest market. Console may gain from GTA 6 and Switch 2, though Xbox hardware has fallen sharply.
The forecast suggests the industry may increasingly court committed players rather than expand the audience, which could mean more subscriptions, live-service updates, and in-game spending. That may benefit publishers and platform holders, while players could face pressure to spend more over time. Higher hardware prices and inflation may make consoles less accessible, even as cloud gaming and PC growth could widen access in Asia-Pacific and other well-connected regions. Developers may also feel continued strain from rising production costs and long cycles.