Games Market & Business Models

Market Size

Revenue FY2021: $90.7Bn

Number of users FY2021: 3+ billion users[1]

Demographic

Engagement with video games is not just for children and it increases with every new generation.
Generation
% Leisure Time spent on Gaming
% Game Enthusiasts
Baby boomer
6%
46%
Gen X
11%
69%
Millennials
14%
83%
Gen Z
17%
90%
Gen Alpha
21%
94%

Business Models

Pay to Play

A traditional business model that requires players to purchase the game before playing. It has been the most popular model in traditional gaming. Examples include Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and Minecraft.

Free to Play (F2P)

A model that requires no upfront payment before players can start playing the game. Free-to-Play games generate revenues from pay-per-view and pay-per-click advertisements and/or offering in-game purchases such as in-game currencies, power-ups, skins, tools, or collectables. Free to Play revenue across all platforms was reported to have reached US$88 billion in 2018[2]. Examples of free-to-play games include Fortnite, Candy Crush and Clash of Clans.

Play to Earn (P2E)

A blockchain-enabled business model where games provide players with a chance to generate revenue by earning in-game assets that can be transferred to the real world as a valuable resource. Players create value for other gamers and developers by engaging in the in-game ecosystem, while earning assets for their contributions. These digital assets might range from Tokens to accessories that have been tokenized on the blockchain. Play to Earn gaming is therefore not just a gaming product but an alternative investment vehicle, which takes away a share of a retail investors’ wallet from trading platforms. Examples include Axie Infinity, Splinterland and Sorare Fantasy Football.
[1] https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/the-games-market-will-show-strong-resilence-in-2022#:~:text=Our%20latest%20market%20forecasts%20show,surpass%20the%20%24200%20billion%20mark.
[2] https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/18/free-to-play-games-rule-the-entertainment-world-with-88-billion-in-revenue/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABaWj_SEzDRnsrcuosusKpyQxFTRRfSGUhd7MMzFBja7TrjxhMW5gLMzALYbHcO1GQ1G0tHzvX6irGYpOTf6E6VyKfb2GOJVMTDoF6G8pFzrId_oQT8ZB3PsztTjFiK5s93IWznaBBccz2GdzWYFsNvxL70TbtoF-JvYmwGAlLaY