Market research firm SuperData has recently released their yearly report of 2016 for the gaming industry which shows the gaming sector has managed to garner a whopping $91 billion in revenues.
The mobile gaming market is leading the chart this year with a net $41 billion (up by 18 per cent) in revenues. Retail games generated $26 billion while free-to-play online games’ figure stood at $19 billion.
The splurge in the mobile gaming industry can be attributed to smash hits like Pokemon Go and Clash Royale, Clash of Clans. With the smartphone penetration at an all-time high, the revenue figures clearly state the reason for the growth of the sector. Monster Strike topped the mobile games chart with $1.3 billion in revenue.
The PC gaming sector earned about $35.8 billion, where roughly half of the revenue was generated by in-app purchases and not from the game sales directly.
The initial year for the virtual reality (VR) was not as good as expected. Given the lack of powerful content and rather low demand, the VR market was placed at $2.7 billion, however it is expected to grow in the coming year.
eSports sector raked in $892.4 million in revenues. While the number is small, SuperData’s report suggests “A string of investments in pursuit of connecting to a new generation of media consumers has built the segment’s momentum, as major publishers like Activision, Riot Games, and Electronic Arts are exploring new revenue streams like selling media rights in 2017.”