Global game content revenue forecast to rise 2.3% to $229.1bn in 2030, supported by PC and Asia-Pacific market

GamesIndustry.biz reports that S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan now expects global game content revenue to reach $229.1 billion in 2030, up from $204.4 billion in 2025. That works out to a 2.3% CAGR, with the next phase of growth driven less by raw audience expansion and more by extracting more value from existing players.

The forecast leans on live-service retention, premium content, subscriptions, and in-game purchases. For developers, that reinforces how central monetization design, content cadence, and long-tail engagement have become, especially for teams building around recurring revenue rather than one-time sales.

PC is projected to remain the biggest platform growth story, rising from $42.25 billion to $49.23 billion by 2030, helped by digital distribution, cross-platform releases, and strong Asia-Pacific demand. Cloud gaming is also expected to grow quickly, from $6.12 billion to $9.71 billion, as connectivity improves and subscription models mature.

The same forecast flags real headwinds: higher console prices, inflation pressure, rising development costs, and long production cycles. Console revenue may still get a lift from Grand Theft Auto 6 and Switch 2 sales, but S&P also expects Xbox software revenue to be increasingly cannibalized by PC by 2030.