The global gaming industry is expected to gross nearly $335bn in revenue in 2023, 13% more than last year. Around 75% of that value will come from the United States and China, the world`s two largest gaming markets. Still, the two countries are far behind the United Kingdom when it comes to user penetration rates in the gaming segment.
According to data presented by CasinosEnLigne.com, the United Kingdom is set to become the world`s biggest gaming nation by 2027, with 70% of the population playing video games.
Japan Drops to Second Place, while Nigeria Climbs Among Top Three Biggest Gaming Nations
Although Japan has been the world`s largest gaming nation for years, that will change in the future. According to Statista Digital Market Outlook, the country has had a top spot in terms of user penetration rate in the gaming segment over the past five years. In 2022, 58% of Japanese considered themselves gamers. The United Kingdom, as the second-largest gaming nation, had the same 58% share of gamers. South Korea, home to many elite e-sports players and organizations, came third, with 57% of its population playing video games. Mexico and Sweden followed, with 53% and 51%, respectively.
However, Statista expects the United Kingdom to overtake Japan and become the world`s largest gaming nation in the next four years, with the share of residents qualifying as gamers jumping to an impressive 70%. Japan will drop to second place with a 67% user penetration rate in the gaming segment.
The rest of the top five chart brings some interesting changes, with Nigeria climbing to a high third place of the biggest gaming nations. Statista expects 65% of the country`s population to qualify as gamers by 2027, more than in South Korea or Sweden.
South Korea will drop to fourth place with a 64% user penetration rate in the gaming segment. Sweden will remain the fifth biggest gaming nation in the world, with also a 64% share of gamers among its population in 2027.
More than Three Billion People to Play Video Games in 2027
For years, video games have been the fastest-growing and the top-grossing segment of the media industry. This trend will continue in the future, with more people than ever playing video games.
Last year, the video games market saw the first user drop in its history, as the number of gamers plunged from 2.6 billion to 2.5 billion worldwide. The negative trend is forecast to stop in 2023, with roughly 200,000 new users in the market.
Statista expects the number of people playing video games to continue growing in the next four years and hit 3.1 billion by 2027.
