The global video game market is forecast to reach $213.9 billion in 2026, representing 6.1% year over year growth as mobile, console and PC spending all increase.
Mobile remains the largest segment by a wide margin, with projected revenue of $121.1 billion, up 6.8%. Console revenue is expected to reach $46.9 billion with 5.1% growth, while PC is forecast at $45.9 billion, up 5.3%.
One of the biggest factors behind console growth is Grand Theft Auto VI. The game is scheduled to launch in November and is expected to help push console full game spending up 17.5%, making it the fastest growing business model tracked in the forecast.
2026 global gaming market forecast
| Segment | 2026 revenue | Year over year growth |
|---|---|---|
| Total market | $213.9 billion | 6.1% |
| Mobile | $121.1 billion | 6.8% |
| Console | $46.9 billion | 5.1% |
| PC | $45.9 billion | 5.3% |
| Asia Pacific | $100.7 billion | Not specified |
| Global players | 3.7 billion | 4.4% |
PC growth is expected to slow considerably after expanding 12% in 2025, which was reportedly the strongest annual increase in the dataset.
At the same time, rising memory and component costs remain a concern across all platforms, even though hardware sales are not directly included in the revenue totals.
GTA VI is critical to the console forecast
The console market is projected to grow by about $2.3 billion to $46.9 billion in 2026.
A major share of that increase depends on GTA VI.
The analysis says console revenue would likely decline year over year without the game. Full game sales are expected to provide most of the meaningful growth during 2026, while several other console business models are forecast to remain flat or decline.
Nintendo Switch 2 adoption and first party releases are also expected to contribute, alongside higher prices for premium games.
GTA VI is nevertheless described as the single largest contributor.
Early demand also appears unusually strong. The game reportedly generated around $180 million in digital preorder sales across six Western markets during its first week.
That figure was extrapolated to approximately $260 million globally, which would make it the strongest opening for a game preorder campaign in the available data.
Launch week revenue has been estimated between $3.3 billion and $5.2 billion.
Those figures remain forecasts rather than guaranteed sales.
GTA VI premium editions could lift average selling price
The base version of GTA VI is priced at $80, but higher priced editions appear to be attracting a meaningful share of early buyers.
Current projections imply an average selling price of roughly $88.
That does not mean the premium edition mix will remain as high through launch. Early preorder customers tend to be the most committed buyers, so the percentage choosing more expensive editions may decline as the broader audience begins purchasing the game.
Even so, higher premium game prices are contributing to overall spending growth across the console market.
Asia Pacific remains the largest gaming region
Asia Pacific is expected to generate $100.7 billion in gaming revenue during 2026, accounting for approximately 47% of global spending.
China and the United States together are forecast to represent 52% of worldwide consumer game spending.
The Middle East and Africa is expected to be the fastest growing region, with revenue increasing 10.3%.
The total number of players worldwide is forecast to reach 3.7 billion in 2026, an increase of 4.4%.
However, audience expansion is beginning to slow. Player growth is expected to average around 3.2% annually through 2029, when the global audience could reach approximately 4.07 billion.
With gaming penetration already around 62% of the global online population, future industry growth may increasingly depend on keeping existing players engaged and encouraging higher spending rather than simply adding new players.
Higher hardware prices could limit content spending
More expensive memory and other components could indirectly affect game revenue.
The forecast does not count console, PC or smartphone hardware sales as game market revenue. However, higher device prices can leave consumers with less money available for games and services while also slowing upgrades.
Console hardware prices are already unusually high for this stage of the generation.
Inflation adjusted pricing reportedly places Xbox Series hardware at roughly twice the cost of Xbox One at the equivalent point in its lifecycle, while PlayStation 5 is about 67% more expensive than PlayStation 4 was at the same stage.
Smartphone average selling prices are also forecast to climb from $467 to $565.
Despite those pressures, engagement remains healthy. PC playtime increased 6.1% year over year during the first quarter of 2026, while pay to play PC game time rose 18.2%.
For 2026, the market is therefore expected to continue growing, with GTA VI providing an unusually large boost to console spending while mobile remains the industry’s biggest revenue source.
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