Games market trends to watch in 2024

Jan, 2024 January 2024
Industry insights powered by Newzoo data

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In 2023, , including a huge number of
industry -defining releases, significant layoffs, several paradigm -changing transmedia releases, the
conclusion of the largest deal in industry history, and the dawn of generative AI in games.
The global games market in 2024 will be similarly exceptional (for better and worse), and
. How will the industry address layoffs? What will be
the next developments in game subscriptions and app stores? Will the transmedia wave get even bigger?
This free report contains our analysts’ insights as well as a broader industry perspective. At the start of
2024, we ran a survey inviting gaming executives and experts to share their predictions, several of which
we published here. Understanding these trends (and the data behind them) will help
This free resource is a preview of the , one of the tools on the Newzoo
Platform. You can subscribe to the Games Market Reports & Forecasts to
.
Thanks for tuning in to this report. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we loved writing it.
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Lead Analyst Games

© Newzoo 2024
The market will continue to recover and grow
2024 will be a lean year for gaming companies
Multi -game subscriptions’ growth will slow down
Companies will return to developing premium games
Mobile developers will turn to PC gaming
The next Nintendo console will launch with a new 3D Mario game
Xbox will launch a mobile store on Android
Nostalgia will be a key driver for live -service games
Generative AI will accelerate game production in a few ways
Open -world Soulslike games will take the spotlight
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Total market CAGR 2021 -2026
Get expansive data for market
sizing and forecasting
Source: © Newzoo | Games Market Reports & Forecasts | October 2023 | newzoo.com /games -market -reports -forecasts Our revenues encompass consumer spending on games: physical and digital full -game copies, in -game spending, and subscription ser vices like Xbox Game Pass. Mobile revenues exclude advertising. Our estimates exclude taxes, second -hard trade or secondary markets, advertising revenues earned in and around games, console and peripheral h ardware, B2B services, and the online gambling and betting industry.
Revenue forecasting through 2026 (in US$ Bn)
2021 2022 2023F 2024F 2025F 2026F
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The total market outlook for PC and console gaming is optimistic .
After the market declined in 2022 (for the first time since Newzoo
started tracking market revenues), it began to recover in 2023 ,
and we expect this trend to continue through 2024 .
One of the main growth drivers this year will be the ever -growing
install base of the Xbox Series and PlayStation 5generation .Even
though this year’s release catalog is expected to be less
impressive than 2023 ’s absolutely packed schedule of much –
anticipated hits, live -service games, and back catalog sales will
drive growth in the segment .
After two years of decline due to difficult market conditions,
especially around user acquisition, mobile gaming is likely to
recover .
91%
9%
0%
Access games market revenue
forecasts through 2026.
Global games market revenues
will increase in 2024.
Agree or completely agree
Neither agree, nor disagree
Disagree or completely disagree
*Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024. 6

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The number of released games
will grow in 2024.
Game development budgets
will increase in 2024.
Compared to 2023, investment from
VCs and other funding sources into
game development will increase in 2024.
Agree or completely agree
Neither agree, nor disagree
Disagree or completely disagree
7 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
2024 will be an exciting year. As gaming
increasingly competes for people’s spare time
with other entertainment media, I expect an
increased focus on social and multiplayer
experiences in both the PvP and PvE arenas.
We will see the launch of titles with rich social
worlds and deep gameplay experiences that
aim to connect communities together.
Gaming will continue to grow into a social
activity that connects communities from
around the world together. Additionally, I
expect that we will see more user -generated
content as players start to express themselves
more by building their own experiences and
sharing those with their communities.
Market Strategy Manager
Ubisoft
Managing Director
Project 369 Group
I see 2024 as a year of stabilization and
adjustments compared to what we have
experienced recently. A lot has happened in
the market since COVID.
2024 should not be marked by as many major
disruptions and should instead remain in a
form of continuity with what has already been
observed recently. This brings its share of
challenges, but also opportunities.
Our industry is still balancing out after the
enormous boom we had during COVID. While
studios are closing and people are losing jobs,
there are also new opportunities through new
studios opening up .
As investors are more careful nowadays,
demand for research, advice, and consultancy
grounded in recent experience will be more
important for studios and investors.
8 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.
Senior Director Business Development
Steer Studios, powered by Savvy
Games Group

© Newzoo 2024
The games market will
experience significant mergers
and acquisitions in 2024.
New IP will dominate the
games market in 2024.
Old / repurposed / licensed IP will
dominate the games market.
Agree or completely agree
Neither agree, nor disagree
Disagree or completely disagree
9 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
Projects in development will launch into a highly competitive games
market .Live -service games bank on players sticking with them for longer,
leaving less room for new projects to succeed, especially as players leave
for premium titles and concentrate on playing fewer games .
After 2023 ,when the industry faced a series of unfortunate layoffs and
many big gaming bets didn’t pay off, this year will be lean for many
companies .
Having come down quickly from the engagement and spending booms in
2020 and 2021 —facing corrections in a post -COVID world and increasing
interest rates —the industry is restructuring .The cash and investments that
flooded the market during the pandemic have dried up considerably, and
funding massive new projects is no longer atop priority .
Games companies will employ risk reduction strategies like avoiding new
IPs .Instead, they’ll focus on sequels and leveraging existing IPs .Companies
will also continue exploring small -experience AAA titles like Assassin’s
Creed Mirage and Marvel’s Spider -Man :Miles Morales .
Games companies will take
riskier bets with games.
Agree or completely agree
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Disagree or completely disagree
10 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
Compared to 2023, the industry will
experience a significant increase in the
number of layoffs. Co -CEO
Iron Galaxy Studios
Last year, video game development saw a lot of volatility, with layoffs
and companies being restructured in the face of acquisition. As we
begin 2024, we see opportunities to bring some much -needed stability
to our industry.
As a partner to studios that make full -scale games, we can lend a hand
in helping them achieve their goals amidst the chaos. As a company
that is hiring, we can help displaced talent find a new home. And, as a
company with many strengths in the areas of coding and creativity, we
are evaluating how we can provide our services to entertainment
industries that are immediately adjacent to video games, opening up
new frontiers for our work.
Agree or completely agree
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Disagree or completely disagree
11 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
The growth phase for multi -game subscriptions may be coming to aclose,
and we forecast lower growth in the coming three years .Indie game
companies have been less eager to sell licenses, signifying the deal size
for these licenses has decreased .
As it stands, multi -game subscription services will not fully take over the
gaming ecosystem as the model has done for streaming music and TV .
Gaming is an active pursuit, whereas the other two media types are more
for passive engagers .Most players can’t consume games at the same
pace as they gobble up shows and tunes, nor do they play many games in
the same period . Right now, the alternative solution for multi -game
subscriptions is to provide access to new games on day one, but this
cannibalizes premium revenue to a point that most gaming companies
can’t afford .
There’s also a new threat to multi -game subscription services in the form
of gaming platforms like Fortnite and ROBLOX .Fortnite just made a
massive leap into becoming a platform with the LEGO Fortnite, Rocket
Racing, and Fortnite Festival launches .ROBLOX is aging up its audience
and diversifying the experiences available on the platform, so more
players across generational divides dive in and stay .At this rate, these
gaming platforms will provide an eerily similar menu of different games to
multi -game services, with the one key distinction being that all of these
are free -to -play .
Agree or completely agree
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Disagree or completely disagree
The number of users for game
subscription services (e.g. Xbox Game
Pass and PlayStation Plus) will increase.
12 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
The live -service games model will still be the most dominant business
model for revenue attribution, but the gold rush for creating new live –
service games is slowing down .Companies are recognizing that the space
is a bit of a zero -sum, highly competitive game .This being the case, many
companies are shifting back to the premium model, which provides amuch
higher chance of financial success .
The PC and console markets show signs of oversaturation .Just 19 games
eat up approximately 60 % of playtime, with the top 33 games accounting
for three -quarters of overall playtime 1.Of course, more live -service titles will
inevitably hit the market .Many projects that began during the pandemic –
fuelled investment boom are nearing completion, and a good number of
them will enter the fray .
Live services thrive on engagement first, but engagement is dropping
because time is finite .Engagement data from 2023 shows that people are
moving away from live -service games, opting to play premium games if the
quality is good enough .
Games companies will allocate additional
development time and resources to premium
games rather than free -to -play titles.
Agree or completely agree
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Disagree or completely disagree
13 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024. 1Source: © Newzoo | Newzoo Game Performance Monitor | 37 markets included.

© Newzoo 2024
Challenging market circumstances and privacy regulations contributed to
the mobile gaming segment declining for the second year in a row in 2023 .
More and more game companies focus on evolving existing games instead
of launching new games —ashift driven by rising user acquisition (UA) costs
and market saturation .Retention and deeper engagement are important
factors in enhancing the longevity of agame .
Launching existing mobile games on PC can be a way to boost both
retention and engagement —the goal is to be available whenever and
wherever your core players want to play .
Another way of diversification is to develop new games specifically for PC
(and console) . Mobile developers bring monetization, acquisition, and
retention expertise in operating a live service in the highly competitive
mobile market .For this purpose, leading mobile game companies have
established new studios dedicated to developing for other platforms .
Agree or completely agree
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Mobile developers will increasingly
shift their focus to releasing
PC & console games.
14 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
As marketing is more difficult now with data privacy reinforcement,
savviness of players, and the competitive landscape going beyond
gaming, game makers need to find an even sharper edge when it comes
to their game’s positioning and value proposition .
Hybrid casual has been mentioned often in the past year(s) as a means
for hyper -casual companies to adapt to marketing challenges . These
companies apply deeper retention and monetization mechanics to
simplistic gameplay, hoping to thrive in this new marketing reality .
Similarly, more traditional game developers should pay closer attention
to how hyper -casual game makers engage with their audiences and
consider adding more casual engagement mechanics in their deeper
gameplay offerings .
We will see A or AA game developers invest more seriously into clearly
defining their market slice and adding mobile hook mechanics and
community interactions in their strategy .
Another topic that comes to mind is the iterative nature of game
development and the early involvement of the community to validate the
business opportunity . I foresee bigger investments going through multiple
iterations of the same game, exposing early adopters to a concept and
early demo, and then, over updates with the growing community
involvement, growing games into a full experience (as expected of more
traditional boxed products .
15 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.
Studio Director, Product Development
and Creative Strategies at Frima

© Newzoo 2024
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On the mobile side, I expect the war on user acquisition costs to
intensify as studios look for new ways to acquire gamers . Monopoly Go!
showed us that leveraging strong IP is one of the ways to achieve this .
I expect to see the number of games launching with big -name licensed
IP to increase . I also expect the overall number of released games to
increase, as well as studios to experiment with different mechanics and
game loops to find a formula for success .
On the flip side, the rising costs of production and user acquisition will
challenge studios to shift from having a strategic focus on user
acquisition as cheaply as possible to maximizing player engagement,
building high quality in-game monetization mechanics and LTV over
time . This will mean highly data -driven optimization of in-game metrics,
building deeper and properly engaging content, and live ops content
strategy planning far in advance .
Mobile developers will be
increasingly affected by changes
in the privacy landscape.
16 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.
Senior Director Business Development
Steer Studios, powered by Savvy Games Group

© Newzoo 2024
After nearly seven years of the Switch, it’s time for anew Nintendo console .
In 2024 ,Nintendo will launch its next generation of consoles, accompanied
by anew 3D Mario game .
Having embraced a digital storefront with the Switch, Nintendo will let
Switch users move Nintendo accounts over to the new console instead of
forcing aclean slate on gamers who already own aSwitch and want to port
their libraries over to the new machine .
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Nintendo will release its next
console in 2024.
Track the performance of
1,000+ Nintendo Switch games
17 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
Xbox will launch amobile app store on Android in 2024 ,and it will come to
Apple devices later .
Microsoft completed its $68 .7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in
October, having already scooped up the mobile developer King in 2015 .The
computing giant has shown astrong (and growing) interest in launching an
app store for Xbox gaming to go head -to -head with Apple and Google .
The timing is looking ideal . Regulators and ongoing legal battles are
lowering the boundaries for competitive app stores to launch .Xbox now
has access to a wealth of gaming IP, including Candy Crush ,arguably the
most popular mobile franchise of the last decade .Xbox will be eager to
unlock the potential reach on mobile by combining its cloud gaming
capabilities and game library through its Xbox Game Pass service .
That said, Apple’s walled garden ecosystem will require further intervention
before an Xbox app store can make it to the App Store .This will hinder a
launch on both major app stores simultaneously .
Agree or completely agree
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Xbox will launch
a mobile app store.
18 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
Established live -service games will also have to reckon with similar challenges to
titles yet to hit the market :to remain profitable, they have to (re)acquire players
and retain players .
However, having been around for years, some of these games can now leverage
nostalgia to their benefit, just as the remasters and remakes of premium games
have done .Fortnite OG’s successful launch and World of Warcraft Classic are
prime examples of nostalgia powering engagement for live services, and we
expect more of that to hit the market this year .
Of course, not all live -service titles are equal, and returning to their roots won’t
always pull players back into these games .
Get engagement and revenue
data for thousands of games
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Games companies will focus
more on live -service games.
19 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
Agree or completely agree
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Disagree or completely disagree
Generative AI will see mainstream
adoption in game development.
Generative AI was one of the hot -button issues of 2023 .
Many industry leaders lauded the technology as a potential cost -saving
measure, especially as game development becomes more expensive and time –
intensive . Developers and fans alike saw incredible potential in AI’s ability to
transform the experience of interacting with NPCs .
At the same time, many fans decried the use of generative AI in game
development . Voice actors, spurred on by the groundbreaking Hollywood
strikes, rallied against AI as well .
Amidst all the controversy, many studios are already using AI tools . The use of
generative AI tools will continue to ramp up to improve efficiencies in the
coming years . However, the technology won’t significantly impact game
production at scale in 2024 . AI may be advancing at unprecedented speeds, but
in 2024 , most use cases will be selective and already proven .
20 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.

© Newzoo 2024
Generative AI was one of 2023’s hottest
topics and fuelled many fantasies and fears.
It’s clear that it will change the video game
industry, if not revolutionize it. Many
companies already use these technologies to
assist them in their work, but as usage
develops and fades among users, many
ethical, legal, and technical issues will arise. As
well as new opportunities, with even more
creativity and means given to communities.
Expect even more quality games from small
teams and more successful mods created by
players.
Market Strategy Manager
Ubisoft
Founder
Sugar Gamers
We will see the launch of the first generation
of games to really leverage breakthroughs in
AI technology in 2024. Features like dynamic
NPCs, personalized stories, enhanced
opponents, and procedurally generated
content will help build deeper and richer
gameplay worlds.
If titles like Baldur’s Gate III and Hogwarts
Legacy have taught us anything, it is that
deeply immersive and narrative experiences
are far from dead. Properly leveraging the
power of AI will help speed up the
development of such titles.
The rapid pace of change, from mixed reality
to blockchain to artificial intelligence and
more, has left many bewildered, questioning
their relevance and direction. As leaders and
innovators, it’s our duty to help navigate this
evolving landscape, guiding players and
creators alike.
Our mission? To wield technology not merely
as a diversion but as a catalyst for unleashing
creativity, sharpening critical thinking, and
forging robust communities. It’s time to unite
and equip our players to be more connected,
imaginative, and ready for the real -world
challenges and adventures that lie ahead.
21 *Source: Newzoo survey, collecting responses from games market leaders and experts in January 2024.
Senior Director Business Development
Steer Studios, powered by Savvy
Games Group

© Newzoo 2024
A barrage of open -world Soulslike games will arrive in 2024 .Building on the massive success Elden Ring
enjoyed in 2022 ,many studios will either release or tease their takes on the open -world Souls -like genre .
Titles confirmed for release in 2024 include Another Crab’s Treasure, Rise of the Ronin, Black Myth :
Wukong ,Enotria :The Last Song, and Flintlock :The Siege of Dawn .
The question on all our minds is whether Shadow of Erdtree ,the Elden Ring expansion rumored to be
twice as vast as any FromSoftware expansion, will drop in 2024 .
Extraction shooters have also been blowing up since last year’s boom .Extraction Royale is the next
evolution of the Battle Royale genre .Escape from Tarkov ,Hunt :Showdown, and Dark and Darker have
demonstrated this subgenre’s rising popularity .
Initially, some shooters tried to integrate this gameplay loop as agame mode in alarger title .Still, many
of these attempts were largely unsuccessful as they didn’t provide the depth gamers expected with this
genre .We have seen many developers already working to build standalone Extraction titles, and many
have already been announced .Some notable examples include Marathon, Arc Raiders, and Exoborne .
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You’ve equipped a better understanding of 2024’s major games market trends. What now?
23 *Source: Newzoo Games Market Rerports and Forecasts | January 2023
Live -service games bring the promise of
limitless spending per player, but the
downside of the model is that it’s costly
to maintain, and engagement is a zero –
sum game.
2023 has proven that there is (and we
suspect always will be) a market for
premium games that focus on finite
experiences.
If there’s anything the success of
Hogwarts Legacy, Baldur’s Gate 3,
Marvel’s Spider -Man 2, and so many
more hit games of last year have shown,
it’s that a game doesn’t have to be a live
service to be a commercial success.
Xbox is potentially moving to mobile,
and many successful mobile developers
are now eyeing expansion on PC (and
console). This means that more content
will be available on all platforms.
Arguably, there’s already too much
content available for people to play.
Standing out with a new game is going
to become even more difficult but not
impossible.
But simply publishing on all platforms
won’t quite cut it. Finding the right
audience, building and fostering a
community, and then serving those
players across platforms where and
when they want to play are the keys to a
successful multi -platform strategy.
After a corrective period following the
pandemic -fueled boom in engagement
and spending, the market is solidly back
on the path to growth.
However, growth isn’t as much of a
given as it’s been in the past. There will
likely be significant swings in success
rates across different geographies,
platforms, and business models.
Newzoo’s games market data and
custom insights will continue to be
strong resources for defining and
refining the right growth opportunities.

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