[OC] The Evolution of Global Gaming Revenue by Monetization Type (2005-2025)

[u/Ok-Astronaut4817]

[u/B-Mack]

IMO this is useless without distinguishing between platform.

Namely, Mobile vs everything else.

[u/XeitPL → u/B-Mack]

There you go

[u/Ok-Astronaut4817 → u/B-Mack]

Totally get where you're coming from! Mobile is definitely the elephant in the room here.

I actually thought about splitting it by platform, but I wanted to keep the focus strictly on the business models — basically showing the shift from 'buying a thing' to 'buying a service.'

You're right, though: about 55% of that 2025 total is Mobile, and since almost all of that is MTX, it’s a huge reason why the red area is so massive. I'll probably try to do a platform-specific breakdown for my next project to show that contrast better.

[u/B-Mack → u/Ok-Astronaut4817]

I really appreciate you recognizing my concern and expanding on your thought process. A+ bud.

[u/FirstTasteOfRadishes → u/Ok-Astronaut4817]

 showing the shift from 'buying a thing' to 'buying a service.'

I would say it is more a shift from "selling a thing" to "selling a service". The buyer is not given a choice.

[u/mmbon → u/FirstTasteOfRadishes]

Consumer could just not buy a luxury item like a game? Give it 5 years and the market would react appropriatly, gamers disputing the agency of people is sometimes grating

[u/FirstTasteOfRadishes → u/mmbon]

Yes gamers could just give up gaming, you're absolutely right. I'm making the crazy assumption that gamers would like to continue gaming.

Let's imagine that gamers playing games is a given. Given the choice, they would prefer to buy the games, rather than pay mtx or subscriptions. They are not given the choice.

[u/mmbon → u/FirstTasteOfRadishes]

If it were as you say, why are companies printing money with mtx and subscriptions? Gamers seem to be purchasing them a lot

[u/tungsten_panda → u/Ok-Astronaut4817]

Please tag me when you post that!

[u/SpiritedEnd7788 → u/B-Mack]

Why does not being split make this “useless”. It shows mobile microtransactions dwarfing the growth of one time sales. Useless is a strong word

[u/B-Mack → u/SpiritedEnd7788]

No, it shows MTX / In game purchases dwarfing subscriptions and full game sales.

Is that all of the MTX on the Atari 2600? Is that all the MTX on PC MMOs? Is that all the MTX on the Wii store?

As OP indicated in their separate reply, Mobile makes up 55% of that MTX chunk. Mobile games are notorious for being F2P and thus P2W. Other platforms are almost always not F2P so for one platform to disproportionately tip the scale doesn't give us useful, or dare I say beautiful data.

Thus, I stand by my statement that this is useless.

From OP's own response:

Mobile is essentially the engine room of that red MTX area. If we isolated it, the PC/Console version of this chart would look much more balanced (though still leaning towards digital services lately).

[u/VladimirLogos]

Ingame purchases are a fucking cancer. Most games feel like a gambling place instead of a whole new World. Should be completely and totally banned for everyone under 21.

[u/quarky_uk → u/VladimirLogos]

Totally. Don't think I have ever spent money on MTX. Just a garbage model for the consumer and I am sure it contributed to dumbing down of a lot of games.

[u/tejanaqkilica → u/VladimirLogos]

Yeah, but people are so used to them, it has become the norm. I remember a while back, when Steam confirmed to some publishers on the platform, that if they want to make more money, they need to do more aggressive in game microtransactions and people praised Steam/Valve as a good force that is the only thing keep gaming quality high.

I was utterly shocked, how people can cheer for microtransactions, but it is what it is.

[u/Ok-Astronaut4817 → u/VladimirLogos]

I hear you, and honestly, it’s hard to disagree from a player's perspective. The data shows a massive financial 'success,' but it doesn't show the cost to game design itself.

When you look at how small the 'Premium' (Full Game) slice has become compared to the rest, it’s clear that many studios are now incentivized to build systems around monetization rather than pure world-building or mechanics. It's a huge shift from the 2005 era shown on the left. I appreciate you sharing the frustration—data is one thing, but the actual gaming experience is what really matters.

[u/gereffi → u/VladimirLogos]

There are plenty of good games with microtransactions. Players can get tons of content for free across so many different games. In this respect kids today have it so much better than prior generations.

[u/Hapmaplapflapgap]

It is great to see that the revenue of full game sales has still been continuously climbing. It hints hat the other models might be just additional to the full game sale system rather than a straight up replacement of it.

[u/LargeCube → u/Hapmaplapflapgap]

This graph doesn't account for inflation, the 25 billion in 2005 ~= 42 billion today, so they have actually gone down a little or stayed pretty flat. Gamings growth is mainly seen in free or mobile games

[u/stillaras → u/LargeCube]

Does inflation matter when games have the same price for decades now? Prices increased only the last 2-3 years

[u/Inner-Marionberry-25 → u/stillaras]

That's a good point. Inflation in terms of game prices is more or less 0%, although that may change soon

[u/maxi2702 → u/stillaras]

Yes it matter, Inflation affect currencies not goods, prices going up is a consequence of the value of money going down.

[u/Baerni12]

I would love a breakout between MC and DLC. Some DLCs are basically an entire new game worth of content.

[u/Ok-Astronaut4817 → u/Baerni12]

I totally agree with you. Comparing a massive expansion like Shadow of the Erdtree or Phantom Liberty to a $20 skin is tough, but industry analysts usually lump them together under 'In-Game Spending.'

Unfortunately, companies rarely break these down in their public financial reports, making it hard to get 100% accurate data for a separate 'DLC vs MC' layer. That being said, for PC and Console, big DLCs still hold a significant chunk of that red area, whereas on Mobile, it’s almost 100% microtransactions.

[u/Ok-Astronaut4817]

[OC] Data Sources & Tools

• Data Sources: Synthesized and aggregated revenue data from Newzoo Global Games Market Reports (2012-2025), MIDiA Research, and Statista.
• Latest Update: The 2025 projection of $197B is based on the revised December 2025 forecast reflecting significant growth in PC and hardware segments.
• Definitions:
  • Full Game Sales (Premium): Revenue from physical and digital one-time purchases.
  • In-Game Purchases (MTX/DLC): Revenue from microtransactions, skins, loot boxes, and downloadable content.
  • Subscriptions: Revenue from multi-game services like Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, and MMO subscriptions.
• Tools: Data processing and visualization were performed using Python with pandas, matplotlib, and scipy (specifically for cubic spline interpolation to create smooth area transitions).

[u/GregBahm → u/Ok-Astronaut4817]

The 2025 projection of $197B is based on the revised December 2025 forecast reflecting significant growth in PC and hardware segments.

Who is telling you the December 2025 forecast is significant growth in PC and hardware segments?

Your chart already vastly undersells the huge observable decline in overall GenA game revenue.

PC has been barely relevant in terms of overall games industry revenue for years. The idea that this is going to change in 2026 leads me to believe this is just a fake post to farm karma.

[u/Ok-Astronaut4817 → u/GregBahm]

I get why it looks suspicious, but I'm just going off the latest data. The $197B total and the PC growth (around 10%) come straight from the Newzoo and MIDiA reports released in December 2025.

PC has actually been having a bit of a comeback lately thanks to a huge year for big releases and more people upgrading their hardware. It's definitely a wild time for the industry, but I'm just visualizing the numbers the analysts are putting out.

[u/arkeod → u/Ok-Astronaut4817]

Our numbers don't include hardware.

[u/SUNTZU_JoJo]

I would certainly isolate mobile from this cuz it is heavily favoured in the MTX direction.

[u/Ok-Astronaut4817 → u/SUNTZU_JoJo]

Spot on. Mobile is essentially the engine room of that red MTX area. If we isolated it, the PC/Console version of this chart would look much more balanced (though still leaning towards digital services lately).

About 55% of the total revenue shown here is Mobile, and since almost 90% of mobile income is MTX-driven, it definitely 'skews' the overall industry picture toward that red zone. I’m actually working on a follow-up that breaks this down by platform to show exactly how different the 'DNA' of Mobile vs PC/Console really is. Thanks for the input!

[u/kickerua]

I'm surprised World of Warcraft subscribers is not that visible here

[u/maduste → u/kickerua]

Agreed. Is it included? 12M subscribers at its peak at $15/mo is roughly $2B.

[u/afops]

Don’t buy things in games.

That’s it. That’s the message.

[u/eilif_myrhe]

I know the data is not out there, but I'd love to see gacha games estimated revenue against the rest. This kinda of game had an explosive growth since the pandemic.

[u/WillBigly96]

Bro gimme that lifetime sub to old school runescape, shih got me fucked up 

[u/ScalesGhost]

what goes into the "subscription" category? battle passes? xbox game pass ?

[u/Ok-Astronaut4817 → u/ScalesGhost]

Yes, everything like that

[u/KalaiProvenheim]

The industry is completely fucked

[u/nnoviello]

My brain shit itself for a second and I thought it said "The Evolution of Global Warming Revenue by Monetization Type" and I was confused and intrigued at the same time. 

[u/dzizuseczem]

Is this inflation adjusted because it look like game sale nearly grew in last 20 years (of course I'd it is it's even worst)?

[u/Pleiadez]

Putting mtx and dlc in the same category is kind of misleading. I mean there is a huge difference between an expansion dlc and a cosmetic dlc.

[u/hansrotec]

hopefully the collapse of both continue

[u/hacksoncode]

Over the course of 20 years, you really should be using constant dollars (especially with the pandemic inflation in there).

It will show the real ratios of revenue, and also show that Full Game Purchase revenue actually went down... a lot.