KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — The Paid Competitive Gaming (PCG) market is expected to reach US$16 billion (RM70.7 billion) by 2024, according to a new report titled Global Paid Competitive Gaming Report 2023.
With a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.9 per cent from 2021 to 2024, this new gaming segment is growing six times faster than the overall global mobile games market, which is forecast to reach US$223 billion (RM985.6 billion) by 2024 at a 4.9 per cent CAGR.
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. Currently, there are four distinct ways to monetise games: Subscription Services, Rewarded Ads, Play & Earn and PCG.
“This shift highlights that publishers are embracing new and innovative models, while players are expecting new and inventive forms of interaction with their favourite games,” says Newzoo Head of Consulting Tony Habschmidt.
According to a statement, PCG represents a novel competitive experience for everyday gamers, offering them a myriad of opportunities to compete in low to high-stakes skill-based games against other players worldwide, beyond traditional games.
Real-money prize pools allow players to monetise their gaming abilities, and effective skill-matching ensures a fair and competitive playing field for all participants.
Mobile is gaming’s biggest, fastest-growing segment, by player numbers and revenues. In 2021, the industry saw 2.8 billion mobile gamers contributing over 50 per cent of the global gaming revenue and is forecasted to grow to US$113.0 billion (RM499.4 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.
The report also revealed that the United States (US), India, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Germany are forecast to be the top markets for PCG with the US, currently the largest gaming market in the world, also leading the way in PCG, with an estimated value of US$3 billion (RM13.2 billion) in 2021.
A collaborative effort between Mobile Premier League (MPL), mobile eSports and digital gaming platform and Newzoo, a leader in video game and gamer data, the report is based on a consulting analysis by Newzoo and customised research conducted by the company in 2022 on 24,562 respondents across 12 of the largest gaming markets.
— Bernama
