PC gaming is often considered the pinnacle of the gaming industry. With various advantages, the platform has attracted a large number of players, and the number has exceeded that of console players. Developers such as Naoki Yoshida believe that consoles are running out of time, while PCs are booming. PC game market revenue has exceeded the total revenue of all console platforms.
A recent new report covers game revenue from 1970 to 2022, summarizing more than 50 years of revenue. By 2022, the total revenue of the PC gaming market will reach $45 billion, while the total revenue of all console platforms will be $30 billion.
The difference between the two is as much as $15 billion. Steam is the largest gaming platform on PC and contributes significantly to PC market revenue. The platform was launched by Valve in 2003 and has become a fan-favorite PC platform. It is estimated that Steam has 120 million active players and generated more than $8.6 billion in revenue.
Mobile gaming, on the other hand, generated $101 billion in revenue, which explains why companies like Sony and Microsoft are keen to enter the mobile gaming market.
According to reports, if a game is released on multiple platforms, most players will purchase it on the PC platform first. For example, the recent "Cyberpunk 2077: Shadows of the Past" was released on PC and console platforms, and 68% of the players came from PC. In addition, Steam expands very quickly, and SteamDeck has become a fan-favorite handheld console that supports more than 9,000 games.
While the console platform still has a lot of power, the PC platform offers more freedom and variety. PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo NS have limitations and simply can't compete with PC.
In 2023, the number of people online at the same time on Steam will exceed 32 million, which shows that the situation of PC games is much better than before. However, even if the PC and console platforms are combined, they still lag behind the mobile game platform and cannot compete with it.