According to the latest Newzoo study, the global game market continued to flourish in 2025, with a robust growth in both the number of players and income. The total number of global game players has risen by 3.5 per cent over the past six months to 3,542 million. At the same time, Newzoo projected a global revenue of $18.89 billion in game software and subscription services in 2025, an increase of 3.4 per cent over the previous year. This growth has not only benefited from the spread of mobile games, but has also been driven by the rise of emerging markets and subscription patterns.
Globally, 3,542 million people are playing in households, and mobile players are in absolute dominance, reaching 2,945 million, or about 83 per cent of the total. The number of PC players is 930 million and the number of host players is 653 million (the number of multiplatform players is higher than the total number of global players because of the presence of multiplatform players), indicating the universality of multiplatform games. The low threshold and accessibility of mobile games have made them a growth force, especially in emerging markets, where the spread of smartphones has contributed to the rapid expansion of the player base.
In terms of regional distribution, the Asia-Pacific region has managed to take over the largest market of 1,868 million players (53 per cent of the world), an increase of 3.2 per cent over the same period. This has benefited from the large population base and the rapid development of mobile Internet in countries such as China and India. The number of players in the Middle East and Africa reached 595 million, an increase of 6.6 per cent over the same year, with the highest rate of growth in the world, demonstrating the enormous potential of emerging markets. Latin American players, at 368 million, showed a 3.6 per cent increase over the same period, also showing strong growth momentum. In contrast, North America (249 million, +1.8 per cent) and Europe (462 million, +1.7 per cent) in mature markets grew at a moderate but still stable rate.
Newzoo predicts that global game software and subscription services will generate $1889 billion in 2025, an increase of 3.4 per cent over the previous year. The Asia-Pacific market, which is expected to contribute $87.7 billion, or 46 per cent of the world, is growing at a slower rate than the global average (2.3 per cent). The combined income of North America ($52.7 billion, +4.2 per cent) and Europe ($33.1 billion, +3.6 per cent) amounted to $85.8 billion, close to Asia and the Pacific, demonstrating the advantages of mature markets in high-value content and subscription services. The Middle East and Africa ($7.1 billion, +7.5 per cent) and Latin America ($8.3 billion, +6.4 per cent) were the fastest-growing, albeit on a smaller scale, reflecting the impetus for infrastructure improvement and localization.
The emergence of subscription service models is a key driver of income growth. For example, the spread of services such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus not only increases the willingness of players to pay but also provides a stable source of income for developers. In addition, advances in cross-platform and cloud game technology have further blurred the boundaries of the movement end, PC and mainframe and promoted income diversification.
Looking ahead, the global game market will continue to grow, driven by subscription services, cross-platform integration and localization strategies. The rapid expansion of emerging markets has provided a wide range of growth space for industries, but innovation and high consumption capacity in mature markets will remain the core pillars of income growth. Technological advances, such as cloud games and artificial intelligence applications, will further enhance game experience while lowering the hardware threshold and allowing more players to participate.
