According to new data from Newzoo, the global PC and console gaming market generated US$80.2 billion in 2024 revenue, which is down by 2.1% year over year (US$81.9 billion).

The Dutch research firm published its third-annual State of PC and Console Gaming report today, using a proprietary game performance monitoring system to track sales and player stats/behavior for more than 10,000 games that were released last year in 37 markets worldwide. 

Newzoo attributes 2024’s overall revenue decline to a weaker slate of premium console releases last year, which led to a 14% drop in sales compared to 2023. This was offset by growth in subscriptions (up 14.1%), microtransactions (up 4.5%) and downloadable content (up 2.5%). 

Despite the revenue drop, Newzoo is forecasting that the console market will bounce back and achieve 7% growth over the next three years, driven by a new console cycle emerging with Nintendo Switch 2’s June launch and the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 later this year. PC gaming will experience a smaller 2.6% growth over the same period, as the player base stagnates. 

Diving into player metrics on both platforms, 2024 game releases accounted for 12% of last year’s total playtime, which is up 1% from new titles released in 2023. Meanwhile, 53% of the market’s playtime is still dominated by older titles that have been in the market for six-plus years, including Fortnite (9.4%) and Minecraft (4.7%). Compared to these heavy-hitters, only 2024’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 came close, cornering a 2.7% share of total annual playtime. 

Newzoo also analyzed more than a million users playing across PlayStation, Xbox and Steam, and found that 34% of these gamers are only engaging with one to three titles for more than two hours each year. PlayStation and Xbox users tend to invest their time in battle royale games like Fortnite and sports titles, while PC gamers prefer a mix of shooters and other competitive multiplayer games.