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[ArtHands]

New report says PC games are outselling console games, calling PC gaming a 'bright spot' in a troubled industry

Everything's coming up computers.

www.pcgamer.com

Earlier today, Matthew Ball, CEO of investment strategy firm Epyllion, released an early version of a presentation called "The State of Video Gaming in 2025." The slideshow, which incorporates data from market research firms like IDG, Newzoo, and Circana, summarizes worldwide market trends in the gaming industry. I'll be honest: Things aren't great. Following a decade-long growth wave between 2011 and 2021, the industry's revenue growth has stalled, feeding into an atmosphere of risk aversion and stagnating investment.

The outlook isn't entirely dire, however. While gaming industry revenue growth has plateaued over the last three years, Epyllion's analysis says PC gaming is "a bright spot" of continued growth, now accounting for the majority of non-mobile content revenue.

According to Epyllion, both PC and console gaming are—as you may have noticed—considerably bigger concerns than they were at the turn of the 2010s. In 2024, consumers were spending almost $50 billion more on PC and console games than they were in 2011.

But beginning in 2021, console gaming growth started to slow, which is particularly clear in worldwide Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 console sales. Compared to the previous console generation, the current Microsoft and Sony console lines had, after 49 months, sold nearly 7 million fewer systems.

PC gaming, meanwhile, has only continued to grow. "While console has stagnated since 2021," Epyllion says, PC gaming revenue "has grown 20%."

Epyllion attributes PC gaming's continued growth to "many compounding advantages over the console ecosystem," like a more extensive release library with greater backwards compatibility, more immediate access to web browsers, social platforms, and livestream software suites, and higher top-end performance.

What's more, Epyllion says PC gaming's "momentum is still growing," thanks to cross-releases of console exclusives, advancements in portable PC gaming devices like SteamOS, and, well, Roblox. "Hundreds of millions of children growing up on Roblox are unlikely to ask for a $500 console to play AAA games," Epyllion says.

As promising as Epyllion's outlook is for PC gaming, it's worth noting that there isn't a universal consensus on who's got a bigger market share between consoles and PC. For example, in August 2023, Newzoo reported that console games had attracted $56.1 billion in consumer spending compared to around $40 billion for PC games. For an explanation of what might account for the discrepancy, we reached out to Matthew Ball for comment.

"IDG is typically considered the source of record for sales tracking in the industry, which is why I primarily deferred to their estimate," Ball told PC Gamer via email. "If you look at Pelham Smithers, a private research agency/bank in the UK, which is what Financial Times usually uses, and what Bloomberg uses (and actually puts through the Bloomberg Terminal), they actually have PC as 50% larger than console. IDC is relatively close to IDG, but not identical."

Ultimately, Ball said, "there is some disagreement." Ball's theory is that market researchers might vary in their tracking of game sales in China—which, he says, are "mostly PC at the AA/AAA level." In Epyllion's analysis, Ball said he "deferred to where publishers told me I should here, and then cross-referenced with a few other sources such as IDC and Bloomberg."

As for PC gaming's future, Ball said he's confident in Epyllion's outlining of the PC gaming market's "still intensifying" growth advantages. "I believe that deeply," Ball said, "especially if/as Steam extends to living room and handheld."

 

[ReyBrujo]

Sony and Microsoft are having trouble reaching new consumers with their consoles, that tells quite a lot. And mobile literally going to be twice as much as console and PC combined, go Tencent!

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Mobile portion of the chart makes me really sad.

 

[ArtHands]

Mobile portion of the chart makes me really sad.

don't worry, it is not affecting console gaming sales according to many experts here.

 

[TheStam]

Roblox, the gateway drug to PCMR.

 

[Holammer]

PC holding its own against all three consoles. Not bad.
One thing pushing PC right now is the influencers, be it Youtubers or Streamers. They often play PC games and stream the latest trending/meme games. With all the certification friction associated with publishing games on consoles, they can't compete in this attention economy.

 

[Sebastian1295]

don't worry, it is not affecting console gaming sales according to many experts here.

Or people understand that mobile gaming and console gaming are two separate entities. Mobile games are for casual gamers who like to play a game here and their on their mobile device while console gamers are people who wanna sit at home on the couch chilling and enjoying a couple of hours of gaming in one sitting. It's two separate markets and two separate audiences. Both markets can coexist at one time.

 

[Sanepar]

The King back to his place.

 

[Klosshufvud]

PC is really what has kept me playing the past decade. I was almost done with gaming by late PS3/ early PS4 era. And then I bought a PC and discovered a neverending gold mine of various niches. Not to mention less hostile storefronts and online services. Consoles traded popularity for increased profits per user. They can't keep up with the popular, universal appeal of PC. From low end to high end, PC is just better. It's in that mid range where consoles still hold a semblance of competitive edge. But mostly consoles are for people who are willing to trade quality for saved time/energy.

We're now entering a new phase of PC gaming where PC is leaving the traditional computer and into handhelds. It won't be long before PC consoles will drop that may hold real value edge over consoles. Good times.

 

[Sebastian1295]

Btw here's a direct quote from the article.

"As promising as Epyllion's outlook is for PC gaming, it's worth noting that there isn't a universal consensus on who's got a bigger market share between consoles and PC. For example, in August 2023, Newzoo reported that console games had attracted $56.1 billion in consumer spending compared to around $40 billion for PC games". So how are pc games selling more than console games if the revenue gap is so much larger on console?

 

[DoubleClutch]

Unless you want plug and play, nothing beats PC.

Cheaper games, free online multiplayer, endless backwards compatibility, and most importantly choice. You can make it as budget or as high end as you want. Just a little bit of common sense and effort is all you need.

After all, a console is basically a PC. Just in a heavily locked down custom platform.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

As Vlade Divac once said, "I love dis gaem"

 

[ssringo]

I doubt it's possible to truly know but I do wonder how the mobile spending breaks down. Like the people that spend less than $100 in a month vs $100-$1000 in a month vs $1000+ in a month. How much of it is the whales vs everyone else.

Not that it actually matters.

 

[ProtoByte]

This just isn't true:

Even counting from 2021, I do not see any evidence for a 20% revenue increase for PC or console.

GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2024

Tis the season to be jolly pouring over pie charts, bar graphs, tables and any other statistics we can throw at you.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Another fabricated "report".

 

[DoubleClutch]

I doubt it's possible to truly know but I do wonder how the mobile spending breaks down. Like the people that spend less than $100 in a month vs $100-$1000 in a month vs $1000+ in a month. How much of it is the whales vs everyone else.

Not that it actually matters.

Not a fair comparison. A huge bulk of profitable mobile gaming is based on haha mechanics, which is really predatory gambling.

Unfortunately mobile gaming isn’t RE4 Remake running on an iPhone for instance.

 

[DoubleClutch]

This just isn't true:

Even counting from 2021, I do not see any evidence for a 20% revenue increase for PC or console.

GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2024

Tis the season to be jolly pouring over pie charts, bar graphs, tables and any other statistics we can throw at you.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Another fabricated "report".

Inflation was more than 20% over that period so it’s not unfeasible at all. Revenues would grow naturally.

 

[Celcius]

You love to see it. We've come a long way since the "PC gaming is dying" memes.

 

[ArtHands]

Btw here's a direct quote from the article.

"As promising as Epyllion's outlook is for PC gaming, it's worth noting that there isn't a universal consensus on who's got a bigger market share between consoles and PC. For example, in August 2023, Newzoo reported that console games had attracted $56.1 billion in consumer spending compared to around $40 billion for PC games". So how are pc games selling more than console games if the revenue gap is so much larger on console?

Already explained.

For an explanation of what might account for the discrepancy, we reached out to Matthew Ball for comment.

"IDG is typically considered the source of record for sales tracking in the industry, which is why I primarily deferred to their estimate," Ball told PC Gamer via email. "If you look at Pelham Smithers, a private research agency/bank in the UK, which is what Financial Times usually uses, and what Bloomberg uses (and actually puts through the Bloomberg Terminal), they actually have PC as 50% larger than console. IDC is relatively close to IDG, but not identical."

Ultimately, Ball said, "there is some disagreement." Ball's theory is that market researchers might vary in their tracking of game sales in China—which, he says, are "mostly PC at the AA/AAA level." In Epyllion's analysis, Ball said he "deferred to where publishers told me I should here, and then cross-referenced with a few other sources such as IDC and Bloomberg."

As for PC gaming's future, Ball said he's confident in Epyllion's outlining of the PC gaming market's "still intensifying" growth advantages. "I believe that deeply," Ball said, "especially if/as Steam extends to living room and handheld."

 

[Guilty_AI]

This just isn't true:

Even counting from 2021, I do not see any evidence for a 20% revenue increase for PC or console.

GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2024

Tis the season to be jolly pouring over pie charts, bar graphs, tables and any other statistics we can throw at you.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Another fabricated "report".

Article acknowledges the existence of conflicting reports. There is no good way to properly analyse the PC market given how it works.

 

[Pop]

I mean it should. Theres more people with computers than consoles

Xbox really dragging down the console market

 

[Humdinger]

I look forward to the hybrid models hopefully coming next gen. I'm a console player by nature but I'd be interested in a crossover that combined the best of both worlds.

 

[drganon]

Btw here's a direct quote from the article.

"As promising as Epyllion's outlook is for PC gaming, it's worth noting that there isn't a universal consensus on who's got a bigger market share between consoles and PC. For example, in August 2023, Newzoo reported that console games had attracted $56.1 billion in consumer spending compared to around $40 billion for PC games". So how are pc games selling more than console games if the revenue gap is so much larger on console?

Simple, it's just another troll thread from from a guy who should have been banned a long time ago.

 

[ArtHands]

PC holding its own against all three consoles. Not bad.
One thing pushing PC right now is the influencers, be it Youtubers or Streamers. They often play PC games and stream the latest trending/meme games. With all the certification friction associated with publishing games on consoles, they can't compete in this attention economy.

Console has got the media outlets (IGN, TGA, Eurogamer etc) and first party companies (Sony) doing the advertising

 

[Gaiff]

This just isn't true:

Even counting from 2021, I do not see any evidence for a 20% revenue increase for PC or console.

GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2024

Tis the season to be jolly pouring over pie charts, bar graphs, tables and any other statistics we can throw at you.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Another fabricated "report".

The article acknowledges this very report and states that there are conflicting reports.

Simple, it's just another troll thread from from a guy who should have been banned a long time ago.

Just like you then.

 

[Vroadstar]

Btw here's a direct quote from the article.

"As promising as Epyllion's outlook is for PC gaming, it's worth noting that there isn't a universal consensus on who's got a bigger market share between consoles and PC. For example, in August 2023, Newzoo reported that console games had attracted $56.1 billion in consumer spending compared to around $40 billion for PC games". So how are pc games selling more than console games if the revenue gap is so much larger on console?

Don't expect too much logic from an Arthands thread. He's practically the Picasso of troll thread creation here.

 

[tr1p1ex]

but I think they go on to say it's mostly China. I know they said that about the increase in Steam users.

That being said ...it's obviously enjoy some kind of renaissance. Just a lot more pc peripherals out there.

Funny to me because I got out of it completely when the miners were buying up the gpus. And haven't been back. It's all console ports. The games started to be limited by consoles. And the extra power of the pc went to higher resolutions and frames and higher settings. But not to games that couldn't be played elsewhere. Which was why i was into pc gaming in the first place.

Not that I have swore off of it. I just haven't (been) wowed by anything. And have been satiated enough by Switch and other hobbies like occasionally posting on Neogaf.

 

[namenotfound]

but I think they go on to say it's mostly China. I know they said that about the increase in Steam users.

I don't see why that would be much of a caveat though. Money is money. Customers are customers. Someday growth will center around Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, etc. The question will be what will appeal more, consoles, PC, mobile. Really it's already mobile but between consoles and PC, I'd bet on PC

 

[tr1p1ex]

I don't see why that would be much of a caveat though. Money is money. Customers are customers. Someday growth will center around Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, etc. The question will be what will appeal more, consoles, PC, mobile. Really it's already mobile but between consoles and PC, I'd bet on PC

you need some adjectives to go with caveat.

it's obviously a caveat if you're talking the US market for example.

 

[Three]

This just isn't true:

Even counting from 2021, I do not see any evidence for a 20% revenue increase for PC or console.

GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2024

Tis the season to be jolly pouring over pie charts, bar graphs, tables and any other statistics we can throw at you.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Another fabricated "report".

As soon as it said "lower entry price point" I laughed my ass off. A PC is NOT cheaper than a PS5 or Series X let alone a Switch or Series S no matter how you slice it.

 

[FStubbs]

Anecdotally, jRPGs not being tethered to PlayStation means that I haven't needed a PS5 this gen. PC and Switch are enough.

 

[Wolves hunt in packs]

Wait until GTA6 is 100 bucks, see how much PCMR fanboys gonna buy

 

[Three]

Btw here's a direct quote from the article.

"As promising as Epyllion's outlook is for PC gaming, it's worth noting that there isn't a universal consensus on who's got a bigger market share between consoles and PC. For example, in August 2023, Newzoo reported that console games had attracted $56.1 billion in consumer spending compared to around $40 billion for PC games". So how are pc games selling more than console games if the revenue gap is so much larger on console?

Because the report is completely bogus with an agenda. As they say lies, damned lies, and statistics.

The "content spend" includes everything including even hardware when Ball is trying to show PC growth vs "console stagnation". With near $2000 GPUs and the ludicrous prices of the GPU market since 5-6years ago you can imagine that revenue would be higher but game sales are not as high. Then for some inexplicable reason instead of mentioning this says PCs have a lower entry price. On what planet?

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

If true I'm getting Atari console and C64 gaming crash vibes.

 

[Topher]

Hmmm, since when is IDG considered the "source of record for sales tracking in the industry"? I'm not saying it isn't true, but this is the first I've ever heard anyone suggest this.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

xbox's demise is dragging the enitre console statistics. thanks Phil

 

[Three]

If true I'm getting Atari console and C64 gaming crash vibes.

No crash coming but the industry isn't doing great overall, even on PC. It's a way of using the collapse of xbox as "the console industry dying" and trying to frame it as the PC industry doing great because some of those people shifted.
Does this by using the massive Xbox declines vs 8th Gen framed as overall consoles struggling. Doesn't show 9th Gen totals for consoles (because it would show big gains overall) and excludes the Switch when showing these console vs PC declines and a very minor difference between PS4/PS5 due to initial shortages. It's trying to paint a picture for you using cherrypicked data.

Same analyst was trying to push GTA6 launching at $100. Craziness. Honestly the only way that would work is if they do what MS or EA does already with 1 week early access for $100. A scam in my eyes but if MS and EA can get away with charging that with their less popular games then GTA6 has no problem.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Who would've thought you can't grow your market share by treating your customers like slaves and idiots, constantly increasing prices, having no real customer support to speak of, being reluctant to introduce basic consumer facing services like refunds etc. and then winding down a proper production pipeline for constant compelling exclusive software?

 

[Kacho]

I've been more PC than console since the tail end of the 360 generation. It was around the time Saint's Row 3 and MW3 dropped that PC ports started feeling less jank. At least that's how I remember it.

Sure, I poop socked World of Warcraft a lot from 2004-2010, but that doesn't really count. Back then I still valued consoles and played on them a lot in addition to my PC. Nowadays, I get consoles but barely use them.

Edit: just bought DW Origins on Steam. Another game I historically would have bought on console. Thanks Nutella.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Btw here's a direct quote from the article.

"As promising as Epyllion's outlook is for PC gaming, it's worth noting that there isn't a universal consensus on who's got a bigger market share between consoles and PC. For example, in August 2023, Newzoo reported that console games had attracted $56.1 billion in consumer spending compared to around $40 billion for PC games". So how are pc games selling more than console games if the revenue gap is so much larger on console?

Don't let facts get in the way of narratives around here.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I mean it should. Theres more people with computers than consoles

Xbox really dragging down the console market

You know how fish tanks work right? When the water becomes inhabitable for the fish, the weaker fish dies first. It won't be long before the big fish starts getting a sore throat...if it hasn't already.

 

[Kacho]

You know how fish tanks work right? When the water becomes inhabitable for the fish, the weaker fish dies first. It won't be long before the big fish starts getting a sore throat...if it hasn't already.

You think PS5 will sell as much as PS4?

 

[March Climber]

The King back to his place.

The King never left.

 

[DavidGzz]

So many amazing Indy games on PC plus better versions of multiplatforms, it's been great. No reason to turn any console on until GTA 6.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

You think PS5 will sell as much as PS4?

I would say no.

 

[ramuh]

Since Ive gotten a 4080S, with a 10 ft HDMI cable, I can still game on my poang with higher res, lower cost, and overall better enjoyment. The one thing that was holding me back, funny enough, was my PS5 achievements. Gave up on that. Hah. And like others have said, niche games that are made only for PC.

 

[Lionel Richie]

Haha that's cute, NINTENDOMINATION though,

 

[Fess]

Who would've thought you can't grow your market share by treating your customers like slaves and idiots, constantly increasing prices, having no real customer support to speak of, being reluctant to introduce basic consumer facing services like refunds etc. and then winding down a proper production pipeline for constant compelling exclusive software?

From my perspective you only had to say that last line.

There is a reason why we see more previous console-only gamers talk in threads about purchasing PCs now.
And it’s not because they suddenly dream about playing Sim City and Football Manager.

I bought my first proper gaming PC around the time when Microsoft started porting their 1st party games to PC last generation.

And I bought my first proper living room PC when Sony started porting their 1st party games to PC this generation.

I still almost exclusively play console games, but I play them on PC.

If Microsoft would’ve still had true Xbox exclusives I wouldn’t have bought that first gaming PC.

If Sony would’ve still had true PlayStation exclusives I wouldn’t have bought that first living room PC.

Nintendo still do true exclusives and that’s why I don’t for a second hesitate to buy their next console no matter what it is.

So the question is. Why did Sony and Microsoft stop doing true exclusives? What happened from XB1/PS4 to XBS/PS5 generation? What did Microsoft notice that got them starting? Was it low sales numbers on Xbox One? And why did Sony follow? Isn’t PS5 doing great?

It’s like there are some mystery statistics somewhere that they both look at or are concerned about that Nintendo clearly isn’t looking at.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

It’s like there are some mystery statistics somewhere that they both look at or are concerned about that Nintendo clearly isn’t looking at.

Maybe Nintendo games are cheap enough to produce that the units sold can support them? Maybe PS5/XSX games are so expensive to make that no business model can finance them long term?

 

[CoreyFlawless]

That Roblox part. Is legit for sure

 

[Three]

You think PS5 will sell as much as PS4?

No, but if you look at the second graph you can see its selling about the same and even outpaced PS4 the last couple of years. Notice he's using net delta meaning he's just looking at the total lifetime to date tally difference every month. Between Nov 2021 and Nov 2022 the stock shortage meant it fell behind 5M but over the last 2 years or so it has outsold PS4 to get this lowered. Now it's selling at around the same pace as the PS4. This year with GTA6 it may even outsell it in lifetime to date tally and overcome that small defecit.