The video game industry has seen a year marked by an increase in the number of users and a growing trend on some of the most popular platforms. Its value is approximately $257 billion and is represented by approximately 3 billion users worldwide. According to True listalmost 90% of sales in this market are in the digital sphere, while 85% of profits come from free games.
In 2022 alone, there have been approximately 90 billion mobile game downloads across all platforms. In the case of the PC Gaming sector, it will reach more than $46 billion in profits by 2025. Added to this is the fact that the majority of users are between 18 and 34 years old, which represents 38% of gamers in the world. These figures are largely linked to the huge boom experienced by different gaming platforms, as well as streaming platforms, according to player preferences in 2024.
Entertainment platforms most used by gamers
This year, online entertainment has gained space over traditional entertainment, as has happened over the past decade. This is why players are resorting more to online platforms, even if physical formats are not excluded. In this sense, several online gaming sites, as well as consoles and electronic devices, have gained popularity in recent months.
1. Video game platforms
One of the main gaming platforms is Steam, which has positioned itself as one of the most popular in the world of PC Gaming since its inception in 2003. According to Sage Demand, this distributor has reached 132 million monthly active users in 2024 , and 69 million every day. Likewise, it is expected that this year Steam was able to reach more than 8.5 million, while in September the highest peak in the history of the platform was reported, recording at the same time 38.37 million users.
Another very popular media outlet is Epic Games, a video game developer behind hit titles such as Gears of War and Fortnite Battle Royale. The latter alone has around 500 million registered users worldwide. Each year, according to StatesmanEpic Games generated an average of $5.63 billion in gross revenue and reported that more than 13 million users access its platform simultaneously. This year alone, it recorded almost 195 million visits, the largest share of which came from mobile devices, at 54.17%.
Very popular this year, like the previous ones, Roblox has been. It is a platform that not only offers a large catalog of free games, but these are created by a community of enthusiastic users. It is currently positioned among the three most popular platforms of the year, occupying 61st position in the world ranking and 2nd place in the consoles and video games category. With approximately $1 billion in annual revenue, Roblox has accumulated over 560 million views in 2024, peaking in September.
Xbox is equally popular and has seen high user traffic over the past twelve months. According to statistics, this year it reached nearly 100 million users, following 2023 in which the sales of Xbox 360 alone exceeded 85 million. For their part, general sales of the software on said platform reached more than $8,500, while video game revenues amounted to $15.4 billion. This year, the site got almost 246 million visits, with a greater predominance on mobile devices.
2. Online Casinos
Gambling platforms were among the most popular in 2024 based on player activity. One of the biggest trends in this direction concerns the bonuses and promotions of these sites, the greatest notoriety of which was free spins no depositpositioning itself as one of the most requested offers.
According to statistical data, the market value is expected to reach 35 million dollars this year, and with an annual growth rate of 5.56%, it will reach 45.8 million in 2029. Likewise, for that same year, the number of Users will increase to almost 140 million with a penetration rate of between 3% and 3.7% over the next five years. The average revenue per player is estimated to be around $323.
The reach of online casinos is so great that at least 26% of the world's population participates in these sites. These include ages close to 34 years old. For their part, the most popular games are slot machines, followed by card games, among which poker, blackjack and Baccarat stand out. Additionally, roulette, in its three variants, has also positioned itself as one of the biggest pastimes on these platforms.
3. Streaming Platforms
The most popular streaming platform in the video game industry is Twitch, which is positioned as the most visited site in the world in 2024. In April alone, more than seven thousand active streamers were reported, with around 7 million of live channels per month. This year, almost 2 billion visits have made this platform a trend, with greater participation on desktop, demonstrated at 86.18%.
The second most popular platform in terms of player visits is Discord. This site reported around 245 million visits in 2024, with growth of 16% over the first months. In total, this platform is valued at $15 billion and has over 560 million registered users, as well as website traffic of $868 million.
Another platform that employs gamers a lot this year is YouTube, in the gaming segment. According to statistics, this is the most consumed content in the first quarter of the year with nearly 20 billion hours viewed, an increase of 15.6% between July and September. To date, more than 350 channels dedicated to gaming have a total of more than 10 million subscribers, a figure that continues to increase.
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