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Source - Reuters

April 2 (Reuters) - Personal computing and console gaming revenue growth is expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels through 2026 as gamers record fewer hours of playtime, according to research firm Newzoo.

The market is expected to grow 2.7% from 2023-end to 2026, below the 7.2% growth rate from 2015 to 2021, according to the report.

Gamers have been recording fewer hours of play, with the average quarterly playtime falling 26% from 2021 to 2023.

The trend is expected to continue this year due to weaker gaming release schedules, with playtime falling around 10% in January.

"Slower player growth rates will impact the industry's capacity to 'expand the pie' via net organic growth," Newzoo said.

Japan's Sony Group (6758.T), opens new tab had said in February it does not expect to release any new major franchise titles such as "God of War" and "Marvel's Spider-Man" in the coming fiscal year.

The company also cut full-year sales forecast for its PlayStation 5 consoles due to weaker-than-expected sales during the holiday season.

Industry giants such as Sony, Tencent Holdings' Riot Games and Electronic Arts (EA.O), opens new tab have also laid off hundreds of employees this year and scaled back operations.

Gaming industry consolidation is another trend in focus with fewer publishers and a small group of games scooping up a large share of player engagement.

In each month of 2023, between 28 and 34 publishers commanded 80% of monthly active users, a publisher count which has been falling since 2021, the report said.

At the same time, five popular titles like Epic Games' "Fortnite", "Roblox", "League of Legends", "Minecraft" and "Grand Theft Auto V" had captured 27% of all playtime last year.

Fortnite and Roblox, in particular, have been thriving due to their games-as-a-platform model, which allows players and creators to add content to the game, allowing the platforms to "stay ahead of the content treadmill", according to Newzoo.

 

[Skifi28]

I'm solely responsible for the gametime of 5 people, I suggest more of you do your part so we can reverse this.

 

[Mattdaddy]

I just put 90 hours in Rebirth, then immediately put 80 hours into Dragons Dogma, and I just fired up Ronin last night, with Stellar Blade on Pre-Order. And random matches of Helldivers peppered all in between.

I'll hold the line.

 

[Elbereth]

Too busy working multiple jobs…

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

I play less than I used to.

 

[Klik]

Well its been most boring first few years into new gen,and i'm gaming since 1995..


Every game just feels like PS4 upgrade

 

[Topher]

Too busy working multiple jobs…

I play less than I used to.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I just put 90 hours in Rebirth, then immediately put 80 hours into Dragons Dogma, and I just fired up Ronin last night, with Stellar Blade on Pre-Order. And random matches of Helldivers peppered all in between.

I'll hold the line.

What are you, retired?
I just put in 3 hours this weekend playing through Open Roads. I thought I was doing great, finished an entire game in one weekend.

 

[SmokedMeat]

I’ve slowed down a bit. More in the mood to do more outdoor shit.

 

[Varteras]

WE NEED MORE TITS!!!

 

[Mattdaddy]

What are you, retired?
I just put in 3 hours this weekend playing through Open Roads. I thought I was doing great, finished an entire game in one weekend.

I robbed an armored car when I was 17 and didn't get caught. Been retired since then basically.

Spoiler

Just kidding I have no kids and Im coming off a surgery thats got me laid up but I can hold a controller. Its my time to shine on the video games baby.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

 

[Lucifers Beard]

I just put 90 hours in Rebirth, then immediately put 80 hours into Dragons Dogma, and I just fired up Ronin last night, with Stellar Blade on Pre-Order. And random matches of Helldivers peppered all in between.

I'll hold the line.

Impressive, but how do you find the time?

 

[Varteras]

I put over 90 hours into Baldur's Gate 3. 80 hours into FF7 Rebirth. Over 100 hours into Helldivers 2. I'm about to sink more di- ...hours... into Stellar Blade. This is on top of the hundreds of hours I spend every year playing WoW. I'm pulling enough weight for 10 of you lazy fucks. LET'S GOOOO!!!

 

[OverHeat]

If I manage to play 10h a week I’m lucky!

 

[SantaC]

Games sell more then ever these days.

1 million is seen as bad which it clearly wasnt 10 years ago.

 

[Elbereth]

Too busy working multiple jobs…

I’m fortunate that I do not have to work multiple jobs, but I know some folks do have to in the current economic climate…Breaks my heart.

Personally, I’ve been spending more time playing games (Helldivers 2 etc) than I have in a long while.

 

[IAmRei]

People have to work as well, so thats why hour counts is not as much as before...

 

[jroc74]

Oh, so now PC is dying too?

Interesting. Can't wait for the responses to this.

 

[iHaunter]

What are you, retired?
I just put in 3 hours this weekend playing through Open Roads. I thought I was doing great, finished an entire game in one weekend.

I was able to get 2 hours in TLOU 2 Remaster, 3 weeks ago.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

WE NEED MORE TITS!!!

Shift Up got us covered, boys!

 

[Quasicat]

Wait?!? So growth has dropped from when we were in the middle of the pandemic. What were we all expecting? I pretty much knew that this would not continue after a few years. These companies, unrealistically, thought this was always going to be the new normal. How idiotic.

 

[TheBomb]

Why do they think it was never going to slow down? Release another virus!

 

[HL3.exe]

Perfect storm of unchecked year over year demanding growth of the game industry, colliding with a current harse period for stable living and income (especially in the US) and a house crisis in Canada and countries in Europe.

The industry shouldn't be shocked as the standards of living has changed drastically, and industry used to be way smaller.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Everyone literally is working 2 jobs just to survive so of course leisure activity time like gaming is going down

 

[StereoVsn]

If I manage to play 10h a week I’m lucky!

Yep, between job, kids, family, friends and other stuff I barely have that much time.

On the other hand shit posting to GAF can be done from work!

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Are they suggesting that lower playtime = less money spent on games? I have to wonder how true that actually is. With mobile gaming, sure, but I don't think microtransactions are embedded into console/PC games to that extent. I'm not saying the article's necessarily wrong, but I'm curious about the nuance.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I have less time than money, and money is a lot more valuable these days, so I'm spending way less on games or hobbies in general.

 

[MikeM]

More people having to do gig work during what was supposed to be downtime in order to pay for outlandish housing costs. Not surprising.

 

[mayham2199]

Sucks to hear but I agree with most that people are to busy trying to survive right now. Thankfully I'm not in that position and I couldn't be more thankful.

 

[Lambogenie]

Too much time posting shit here to play.

 

[ChiefDada]

Give me the PS5 Pro, GTA VI, or ideally both and watch me singlehandedly turn the tide.

 

[Exentryk]

Yeah, been struggling to find time to play games. I started Granblue and got <10 hours in before Rebirth released, so started that and got <10 hours before Dogma 2 released, so now I'm playing Dogma 2 (slowly). Will go back to the other games after.

 

[Griffon]

Shame on you for having sex lives and families.

I stayed pure and virgin so that I can get 8hrs of gaming per day. A true alpha gamer.

 

[LordOfChaos]

More people starting to force a return to office....Allegedly, working from home allowed a lot more gaming hours in a busy adult's life...Allegedly..

 

[Ozzie666]

Gaming is a full time job now. Not sure how people find the time.

 

[Northeastmonk]

It’s easy to game. IMO People make it difficult. You can easily do a couple quests or pass a few checkpoints. Level up and shut it down. It’s entertainment that lasts longer than film and TV.

Factor in the time to download, update, and progress just enough to save your game. Maybe that’s too much work for some? It works for me and my time isn’t always great. I don’t really play multiplayer games or with friends. I stick to single player and I enjoy handheld mode when I can. I remember beating a boss in Elden Ring on my phone.

I’d say it’s much easier to game, but you have to put some effort into it. I’ll fight a boss on my phone again if I had to.

 

[DR3AM]

Everyone except GAFFERS had sex during the pandemic and now these people have kids and less time for gaming.

 

[lh032]

yea, especially in asian countries where you need to work really long hours.
Gamers with families will have even less time for gaming.

I wake up at 5.30am daily, and back to home around 7-8pm on weekdays.
Weekends im burnout, and dont have "mood" to play games, it sucks.

 

[lh032]

It’s easy to game. IMO People make it difficult. You can easily do a couple quests or pass a few checkpoints. Level up and shut it down. It’s entertainment that lasts longer than film and TV.

Factor in the time to download, update, and progress just enough to save your game. Maybe that’s too much work for some? It works for me and my time isn’t always great. I don’t really play multiplayer games or with friends. I stick to single player and I enjoy handheld mode when I can. I remember beating a boss in Elden Ring on my phone.

I’d say it’s much easier to game, but you have to put some effort into it. I’ll fight a boss on my phone again if I had to.

first of all, that sounds horrible, secondly, its not about playing games in a short burst, work burnout/stress from work will stop you from doing that for most people.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

More people starting to force a return to office....Allegedly, working from home allowed a lot more gaming hours in a busy adult's life...Allegedly..

When people say they’re more efficient at home they were actually talking about efficiency in game completion

 

[LectureMaster]

I keep track of my progress.

2020 I finished 40+ games, followed by 30+ in 2021.

Last year was 22 and first quarter 2024 I finished 4 in total.

Just too much commitments in real life, when I do have some time in the evening I feel less motivated to fire up the machines.

Hopefully it's gonna change in a few years.

 

[darrylgorn]

I have a job and kids, so I play twice as much as I used to.

 

[Deerock71]

I'm actually 24 hours into Dragon Quest 11 on the Switch, and I'm finally seeing why this game got so much love. Pure magic, with a great tip of the cap to the previous 10 entries.

 

[Mooreberg]

Excessive content bloat is a major deterrent from even starting a lot of titles. I probably played through more games in individual years of the PS2/GC/Xbox/Early Steam era than I will have finished between January 1, 2020 and the end of this year, which is half a decade. Publishers need to start reining it in with the "we can hook everyone for 100 hours" approach. It isn't working.

 

[Andrew Evenstar]

don't have time with work , gym, and studying for ccna and security + and random hook upz lol. i'm probably not even gonna finish rebirth before the 3rd part comes out lol, by the time i play it, i'm too tired.

 

[Bernardougf]

Xbox is doing fucking nothing for years .. and Sony is launching dud sequel after dud sequel that sells based on previous games laurels and brand recognition.

So yeah no shit gamers are playing less ... AAA western games are turning to shit. Just like movies did.

And everybody knows why... even the ones that pretend they dont.

 

[Laptop1991]

Ive got time to play games, but i'm not playing any of these newer games because they don't interest me, i'm still playing the games from before Cyberpunk and the Pandemic because these newer games are not worth my money and time imo, if they were better i would be playing them.

 

[Team Andromeda]

There's is also a life out there and its nice to see people getting back to normal and going out, to just staying in the house. Hopefully, soon those lazy work from home lot will be forced back to the office soon
And life can get back to normal and the way it was.