India and Mexico are the fastest-growing paid competitive gaming market (PCG) market in the world, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.3 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively. This is according to the latest report released by Newzoo and MPL at the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco. The report also said that India is the second largest PCG market as of now and is projected to grow to $3.5 billion by 2024.
The report titled "Global Paid Competitive Gaming Report 2023," said that PCG, a relatively new form of gaming, is set to become one of the fastest-growing gaming segments. The report said the PCG market is expected to reach $16 billion by 2024. With a compound annual growth rate of 31.9 per cent from 2021 to 2024. It is growing six times faster than the overall global mobile games market, which is forecast to reach $223 billion by 2024 at a 4.9 per cent compound annual growth rate.
The report is based on customised research conducted in 2022 on 24,562 respondents across 12 of the largest gaming markets.
The report says that the gaming industry has undergone a paradigm shift since the introduction of the pay-to-play model in the 1970s and the subsequent free-to-play model in the 2000s. Today, there are four distinct ways to monetise games: Subscription Services, Rewarded Ads, Play & Earn, and PCG.
“PCG focuses on offering players the ability to monetize their experiences with and through other players, opening up the potential to be rewarded for their skills. As new players are drawn to it from traditional forms of gaming and from adjacent entertainment realms like sports and social media, PCG will democratize and redefine the industry,” says Tony Habschmidt, Head of Consulting, Newzoo.
Top PCG Markets
According to the report, India, Mexico, Germany, the UK, and the US are forecast to be the top markets for PCG. The US, currently the largest gaming market in the world, is also leading the way in PCG, with an estimated value of $3 billion in 2021. It is projected to grow at a CAGR of 29.4 per cent, reaching $6.6 billion by 2024 (representing 33 per cent of the total mobile gaming market).
India is the second largest PCG market and is projected to grow to $3.5 billion by 2024. India along with Mexico are the fastest growing PCG markets with a CAGR of 33.3 per cent and 32.0 per cent respectively. The UK and Germany are growing at a rate of 21.9 per cent and 20.6 per cent, respectively.
Mobile Will Remain Dominant Platform For Gaming
The report says that mobile is gaming’s biggest and fastest-growing segment, by player numbers and revenues alike. In 2021, the global gaming industry saw 2.8 billion mobile gamers contributing over 50 per cent of the global gaming revenue and is forecasted to grow even further to $113.0 billion by 2024 with 3.1 billion players.
PC gaming had 1.4 billion players in 2021, expected to rise to 1.5 billion by 2024, and console gaming had 871 million players in 2021, projected to increase to 943 million in 2024.
Cross-platform play is popular, with significant overlap between the platforms. Newzoo report estimates that there will be over 3 billion gamers globally by 2024.
Smartphone And 5G Penetration Will Unlock New Audiences
According to the report, the number of global smartphone users is expected to rise by 45 per cent from 2.9 billion to 4.8 billion by 2024. This growth will be driven by affordable smartphones, especially Android devices, in emerging markets, providing a more accessible gateway to gaming.
In addition, 5G technology's faster speeds will enhance gameplay and support cloud gaming. By 2024, approximately 2.4 billion, or 37.4 per cent, of the projected 6.4 billion active smartphones will be 5G-ready, the report says.