The State of Video Gaming in 2025: PC Gaming Continues to Thrive and Outperform Consoles

by Sylvia January 15, 2025

Matthew Ball, CEO of investment strategy firm Epyllion, recently released a presentation titled “The State of Video Gaming in 2025.” The presentation highlights the current trends in the gaming industry and reveals that while the overall revenue growth has stalled, PC gaming continues to show promising growth. The analysis indicates that PC gaming has become a major player in the market, surpassing console gaming in terms of revenue. Epyllion attributes PC gaming’s success to various advantages it offers, such as a wider range of games, backward compatibility, and access to web browsers and social platforms. The future of PC gaming looks bright, supported by factors like cross-platform releases and advancements in portable gaming devices like SteamOS. However, some discrepancies exist in market share data between consoles and PCs, and the sources may differ in their tracking methods. Despite this, Epyllion remains confident in its analysis and believes in the continuing growth of the PC gaming market.

The State of Video Gaming in 2025: PC Gaming Continues to Thrive and Outperform Consoles

– The overall revenue growth in the gaming industry has stalled, but PC gaming remains a bright spot with continued growth.
– Console gaming growth has slowed since 2021, while PC gaming revenue has grown by 20%.
– PC gaming’s advantages, such as a wider release library, backward compatibility, and access to web browsers and livestream software, contribute to its momentum and growth.

Earlier today, Matthew Ball, the CEO of investment strategy firm Epyllion, unveiled an early version of a presentation titled “The State of Video Gaming in 2025.” This comprehensive slideshow incorporates data from prominent market research firms such as IDG, Newzoo, and Circana, providing a comprehensive overview of global gaming industry trends. However, the outlook isn’t entirely positive.

After experiencing a decade of substantial growth from 2011 to 2021, the gaming industry’s revenue growth has reached a standstill. This stagnant growth has created an atmosphere of risk aversion and limited investment. Nonetheless, there is a silver lining – PC gaming remains a beacon of continued growth. In fact, it now accounts for the majority of non-mobile content revenue, marking a significant shift from previous years.

Epyllion’s analysis reveals that both PC and console gaming have become significantly more influential compared to the start of the decade. In the year 2024, consumer spending on PC and console games had escalated by nearly billion compared to 2011. However, while PC gaming continues to thrive, console gaming growth has begun to slow down, evident in the recent sales figures of the Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 consoles. Compared to the previous generation, the current console lines have sold almost 7 million fewer systems after 49 months.

On the other hand, PC gaming has sustained its upward trajectory, experiencing a revenue growth of 20% since 2021. Epyllion attributes this success to several compounding advantages that the PC ecosystem offers. These advantages include a broader library of games with greater backwards compatibility, immediate access to web browsers, social platforms, and livestream software suites, and higher performance capabilities.

Moreover, Epyllion predicts that PC gaming’s momentum will only continue to grow. Factors contributing to this projected growth include cross-releases of console exclusives, advancements in portable PC gaming devices like SteamOS, and the rise of games like Roblox. With hundreds of millions of children growing up on Roblox, the demand for expensive consoles to play AAA games is expected to decline.

Although Epyllion’s positive outlook for PC gaming is encouraging, it’s important to note that there is no universal consensus on the market share between consoles and PCs. Different research firms present varying data, creating discrepancies. Matthew Ball suggests that the disparity might be attributed to variations in tracking game sales in China, where PC games tend to dominate the AA/AAA level.

Looking ahead, Ball remains confident in Epyllion’s analysis of the PC gaming market’s growth advantages, which he believes will only intensify in the future. He highlights the potential expansion of Steam into living rooms and handheld devices as a significant factor contributing to PC gaming’s continued success.

In conclusion, the state of the gaming industry in 2025 presents a mixed picture. While overall revenue growth has flatlined, PC gaming remains a bright spot, outperforming console gaming. As the industry evolves, it will be fascinating to witness how these trends develop and shape the future of gaming.