China to lose its crown as the world’s biggest gaming market to the US due to impact of approvals freeze
- US to become biggest gaming market in 2019, driven by console sales growth
The US is forecast to take China’s crown as the world’s biggest gaming market in 2019, driven by console titles, with the Chinese market slowing down in the wake of last year’s regulatory freeze on approval of new games, according to market research firm Newzoo.
The US is forecast to rake in revenue of US$36.9 billion globally this year, taking the top spot for the first time since 2015, according to a Newzoo report on Tuesday. China is projected to come a close second with a total of US$36.5 billion in game revenue for 2019.
Newzoo forecasts the global games market will be worth US$152 billion, with 48 per cent of all spending coming from the US and China. However, China is expected to reclaim its number one spot in 2020 as it fully recovers.
“Publishers [in China] … are now able to monetise their new games once more, but the consequences of the freeze and new approval process will still impact growth in the Chinese market this year,” said Tom Wijman, senior games market analyst at Newzoo.