50+ Amazing Video Game Statistics That Will Blow Your Mind In 2021

Geeky bearded dudes napping on sleeping bags in their basement, reaching for the nearest pack of Cheetos and can of Mountain Dew was once a vision the world had of video gamers and developers. Not anymore!

The video game industry has taken the world by storm, surpassing the demand of Hollywood movies. The value of the video games market is set to hit 131.23 billion U.S. dollars.

But, it’s not just games in the video game industry that pull in big revenue. Hardware like consoles, computers, monitors, and controllers often generate more income than the games themselves.

Video game statistics in 2021 show that the video game industry is set to continue growing and expanding. Why not check out some interesting video game statistics from 2019 before we reveal the latest video game trends.

General Video Game Statistics

• Over 47% of game publishers sell their games through Steam (Game Developers Conference)
• Nearly 50% of gamers have paid for in-game items through microtransactions in the last year (The Entertainment Software Association)
• The most influential source of information to base game purchase decisions comes from YouTube videos (The Entertainment Software Association)
• 23% of video game executives believe the use of blockchain technology will make the video game market more secure in years to come (EY)
• Over 85% of video game industry revenue is generated from free-to-play games (Clairfield International)
• Twitch is responsible for 31% of revenue from all gaming video content (Copia Institute)
• The DLC market’s estimated worth is 24.6 billion U.S. dollars, compared to the physical content market which is 8.7 billion dollars (Statista)
• Action was the biggest selling genre in the U.S. in 2018 with a 26.9% share of units sold (Statista)
• The first form of video game was created back in the 1950s (APS)

Video Game VR/AR Statistics

• 8% of VR adoption rate comes from North America, which is currently the world leader in this area (GlobalWebIndex)
• 70% of experts say the AR market will surpass the VR market in terms of revenue (Perkins Coie, XR Association)
• PC and all-in-one VR headset shipments are estimated to reach 62 million units by 2025 (L.E.K. Consulting)
• 79% of Americans who have experienced AR have used it to play video games (Newzoo)
• In 2020, gamers will spend up to $4.5 billion on VR gaming (Business Wire)
• In the U.K., during the first full week of COVID-19 lockdown, the gaming VR market experienced 18% year-on-year growth compared to 2019 (Statista)
• 63% of players aged 25-34 years play VR games (EEDAR)

Mobile Video Game Statistics

• In 2019, mobile games reached a 60% share in gaming consumer spending (Liftoff)
• 50% of all mobile users will open at least one gaming app throughout the week (Liftoff)
• Year-on-year, the mobile game industry is growing at a rate of 25.5% (Hybridan)
• There are more than 2.2 billion mobile gamers worldwide (Plinq)
• In 2019, the iOS App Store generated $14.6 billion from mobile video game sales (Plinq)
• By the end of 2020, it’s estimated the mobile games industry will be worth $77.2 billion (New Zoo)
• Matching puzzle games are the most played games in mobile gaming (TechJury)

Console Statistics

• Sony’s PS4 generated 2.5 times as many sales in comparison to Microsoft’s Xbox (Emirates NBD)
• Two-thirds of console gamers prefer owning a physical copy of a game to a digital format (Nielsen Holdings)
• The console video game market is suggesting a 13.4% revenue increase year-on-year (Mobvista)
• Nearly 25% of game developers who sold products for the Nintendo Switch said they saw better sales compared to other consoles (Game Developers Conference)
• There are 36.4 million monthly PlayStation Plus subscriptions (Sony)

Video Game Demographics

• There are 2.7 billion gamers worldwide in 2020 (Statista)
• In 2014 there were only 1.82 billion gamers, rising to 2.2 billion in 2018 (Statista)
• 40% of video gamer players in the U.S. are aged 18-35 years (Statista)
• Only 21% of gamers are below 18 years old and 21% 50 years old and above (Statista)
• Asia is the region with the largest number of gamers with over 1.5 billion people claiming they are gamers
• 56% of gamers play multiplayer games at least once a week (ESA)
• The average gamer is 34 years old (ESA)
• The wealthiest professional gamer in the world has earned a whopping $4 million (eSportsEarnings)
• The average female gamer is 36 and the average male gamer is 32 (ESA)
• 60% of Americans play video games on a daily basis (ESA)

Gaming Market Statistics

• By 2021, it’s estimated the PC gaming market will hit $45.5 billion (Statista)
• By 2022, console gaming could generate $61 billion in revenue (New Zoo)
• Sony’s PlayStation has the highest number of consoles ever sold (Statista)
• Free to Play games on the PC could fall to $20.6 billion revenue in 2020 (Statista)
• By 2021, the Chinese games market is expected to reach $35 billion (Niko)
• In 2019, the global games market was $148.8 billion
• 47% of game developers sell their video games on Steam (GDC)

Platforms and Devices Statistics

• The average price of a game on Steam in 2018 was $8.86 (Steamspy)
• In 2018, 25 new games were released every day on Steam (Statista)
• 41% of gamers say the smartphone is their gaming device of choice (New Zoo)
• 66% of game studios make games for PC (GDC)
• On PC, RPGs and shooters are the most played genres (EEDAR)
• Android is the preferred OS for mobile games (GDC)