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The Newzoo 2020 Games Market Report has landed 

Leading games industry analysts Newzoo has dropped its Newzoo 2020 Games Market Report and there are plenty of opportunities for Indie Games and Indie Gaming Studios. 

Interested in reading the report you can find it here, or read below for our highlights for the indie gaming community. The report presents a complete, actionable picture of the games market, featuring key trends, market sizing, rankings, and two special focus topics: the impact of COVID-19 on the games market and the next-generation consoles.

Newzoo 2020 Games Market Report 

The report states that the global games market will generate revenues of $159.3 billion in 2020, a +9.3% year-on-year increase, driven by an amplified interest in gaming as a result of lockdown measures and the launch of the next-generation consoles.

With such huge revenues being generated in gaming and a jump of almost ten percent across the board in revenues, there’s clearly an opportunity for Indies to capitalise. Although the major players dominate profits, there’s still a greater chance for indies to carve out an opportunity. 

COVID 19 and Next Gen Consoles

In the report Tom Wijman Sr. Market Analyst Newzoo highlights the global Coronavirus pandemic as having a huge impact on the games industry and the impending launch of the next generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft significant events on the games industry radar.

We’ve all seen that more people are gaming than ever due to social distancing and lockdowns being enforced globally. That’s set to change but who knows what the next chapter will be in the saga. 

With new platforms come new opportunities and we’re getting closer to the point where indies will be able to post straight to these machines. It’s another option for indies in a games market further shifting towards a service-oriented market. With Google, Apple and Microsoft all looking to compete in the games streaming space. Together, the subscription services on console will generate $5.8 billion in 2020, which accounts for 13% of the console market and 4% of the overall global games market.

Microsoft is leading this shifting dynamic, to the point where it looks willing to sacrifice short-term revenues to put itself in a stronger position for this service-oriented games market. Which could be a factor in the recent announcement to drop Mixer. 

Mobile and Social Gaming 

For indie games there continues to be more opportunities. With the freemium model thriving. In-game revenues are the main source of income for mobile games, with nearly 98% of the $77.2 billion in revenues coming from in-game transactions in 2020.

Tom Wijman Sr. Market Analyst Newzoo, says it best in his introduction to the report: ‘Ten years ago, younger generations were leaving behind traditional media for social media. Today, they are leaving behind social media for the more interactive experiences that gaming offers.’

‘Thanks to gaming, the once-impossible concept of a metaverse—a virtual space that is persistently online and active, and unlimited in scope with its own economy—is edging closer to reality. Mobile gaming continues to break barriers, expanding the reach of gaming around the world. By the end of this year alone, more than 92 million new players from emerging markets will have entered the ecosystem, most of them via mobile.’ 

‘One of the key contributing factors is the ongoing growth of hypercasual mobile games. The accessibility of these titles—through simple gameplay, little-to-no waiting time, and ad-based monetization—allows anyone to play and enjoy. Chinese game companies, in particular, are leading the change for mobile.’ 

The games industry is booming

With people spending more time gaming than ever before and games the go-to platform on the go and for socialising, this is a great time to be in gaming. Hopefully it will present some real opportunities to get more indie games played and more chances for Indies to raise interest and revenue. 

By the end of this year, there will be 2.7 billion gamers worldwide, with 2.5 billion playing on mobile, 1.3 billion playing on PC, and 0.8 billion on console. But thanks to growth markets in regions like Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America, this number is on track for even further growth in the coming years. 

And the future is looking even brighter. Newzoo predicts the year 2023 will mark a major milestone for the global games market. That year, the global number of players will surpass the three-billion mark, representing a CAGR (2015-2023) of +5.6%. 

To read the full Newzoo 2020 Games Market Report head over to Newzoo. For more features on Indie Games visit our features pages.