Forecast: Games revenue to pass pay-TV, cinema
March 30, 2023
Findings from analyst firm Omdia indicate that global consumer spend on games is set to reach $215 billion (€198bn) by 2027. Following a 50 per cent increase in games adaptation in 2022, the transmedia space continues to expand and profit as more video game franchises make their way to the large and small screen.
“Alongside the increasing number of games IP adaptations since the 1980s, the quality and consumer perception of this content has significantly improved in recent years,” commented Maria Rua Aguete, Senior Director in Omdia’s Media and Entertainment practice. “Streaming services and studios need more content to monetise their services and reach profitability and consumers are demanding more and more content. The days of poor performing titles such as Tomb Raider: 5.5 or House of the Dead: 2.1, are long behind us. High-scoring TV series such as Netflix’s The Witcher or HBO’s The Last of Us prove that quality, investment and the writing across the adaptations are of a superior level.”
According to Omdia, the number of titles available on US SVoD services surpassed 40,000 titles as of Q3 2022. Programming spend in the US also grew 11 per cent in 2022, reaching $122.4 billion.
The research also ranked countries by spend on games-related content and services for the last ten years with the US, China, Japan, UK and South Korea taking the top five positions.
Furthermore, Omdia’s research found the universe of gamers is much larger than that of cinema across all age groups. More than 50 per cent of 55-64 age demographic prefer gaming over cinema in the US, while women lead in mobile gaming in the UK and Germany.
“As the hype and excitement surrounding the upcoming Super Mario Bros movie, one of the most popular video game franchises scheduled to make its return to the big screen this April, the popularity of sci-fi series The Last of Us and Stranger Things continue, it is no surprise that games revenue is expected to reach stratospheric levels thanks to a growing catalogue of film and television adaptations,” concluded Rua Aguete.