Global player forecast 2022 – 2028F

The Al Encore: Content, Code and 2025 Stock Surge and approximately 61.5% of the world's online population . While player growth remains positive, penetration relative to the online population is beginning to plateau, indicating that the industry is entering a more mature phase where retention and monetization will become increasingly important. By platform, mobile dominates with approximately 3.0bn players (+4.5% YoY), accounting for 83% of the total player base, reinforcing its role as the primary access point to gaming globally . PC players are expected to reach 936mn (+3.1% YoY), benefiting from ecosystem growth in China and Japan and continued Steam expansion. Console players are projected at 645mn (+2.5% YoY), reflecting a more saturated market but supported by hardware refresh cycles and major title releases. Regionally, Asia-Pacific leads with 1.9bn players, followed by Europe (465mn), Latin America (372mn), North America (249mn), and the Middle East & Africa (595mn), with the latter showing the fastest growth rate at +6.8% YoY . Notably, emerging regions continue to drive incremental player growth, while mature markets see slower expansion due to demographic constraints and market saturation.