PC will overtake console revenue by 2028, says Newzoo

In its latest report, Newzoo projects PC revenue will surpass console revenue by 2028. PC is expected to grow at a 6.6% compound annual growth rate from 2025 to 2028, compared to 4.4% for console.

Newzoo director of consulting Ben Porter, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz at GDC Festival of Gaming, says that the growth of PC has been slow and steady. “It doesn’t grow in the same way as console, because consoles have these cycles: You have a console generation, and you’ll see upgrades, and then you’ll see changes in people’s spending behaviours around this.”

Overall, the PC and console gaming market is projected to reach $103.7 billion by 2028, according to the report. Newzoo said the combined revenue for these segments grew 7% year-over-year in 2025 to $88.3 billion, and forecasts it will reach $94.3 billion in 2026.

Newzoo observed that this growth was “the first notable expansion since the pandemic slowdown and the start of a more measured growth cycle expected to continue through 2028.”

On PC, premium games represented 29% of total revenue and were the main growth driver, with an 11.8% increase across AAA, AA, and indie releases. Engagement outside the top 20 titles increased from 33% in 2022 to 42% in 2025.

The player base is expected to exceed one billion in 2028, driven by regional expansion, especially in East Asia. “China is not the only place where we saw that growth; you do see it also in just East Asia in general,” says Porter.

“With Japan, which has historically been a mobile-first, console-second, PC third type of environment, they are also discovering Steam in a more significant capacity than they have before. And notably, the dynamic there is very different, because with China, it’s a much lower ARPU (average revenue per paying user). So that is more in terms of the number of people that are coming in. Whereas with South Korea and Japan, those are very high ARPU countries.”

Console revenue depends on blockbuster hits and hardware

On console, premium titles accounted for about half of revenues in 2025, a 12% year-over-year rise. Games priced above $50 comprised nearly 80% of premium revenue.

Microtransaction revenue declined slightly, which Newzoo says reflects “pressure across some live-service ecosystems.” Subscription revenues grew modestly, driven mainly by price increases and tier upgrades.

The data firm suggests console “remains more dependent on blockbuster premium releases and hardware,” and that mature markets such as North America and Japan continue to generate higher spend per player.

Across PC and console, Roblox was the most-played franchise last year with a 52% increase in playtime. Fortnite was second, followed by Call of Duty. Battlefield returned to the top 20, while legacy franchises saw broad declines.

The $30 to $50 price tier “is a cross-platform sweet spot for pricing”

Elsewhere in the report, Newzoo analysed changes in premium pricing dynamics. In major Western markets (the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy), premium spending increased in 2025 despite declines in playtime.

The $30 to $50 price tier is “emerging as the fastest-growing premium segment,” according to the report. “This is like a cross-platform sweet spot for pricing,” says Porter.

On PC, titles under $30 are more popular, with 26 games in this market segment surpassing $5 million in revenue in 2025, compared to 17 in 2024. “There’s way more price dynamism within PC,” says Porter.

“The sub-$30 category, that actually grew quite quickly if you include back catalogue and new releases. But if you look at the sub-$30 new release segment, that grew 156% for new releases launched on PC, which is quite dramatic growth.”

The effects of Game Pass

Newzoo found that titles above $50 remain most popular on console, though it is flattening on some platforms, including Xbox.

“On Xbox, Game Pass has enabled players to try different experiences with way less friction,” says Porter.

“The side effect of that, though, especially with the day one launch strategy on Game Pass, is that in charts, Xbox looks very subdued. Game Pass is kicking Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion off the leaderboard of the top five titles. That’s because the dollars that would have been accrued there are countered by Game Pass.”

Porter suggests that having titles release day one on Game Pass can act as a “marketing loss leader on other platforms.”

“If you look at the raw sales numbers, Xbox does look a little bit less impressive than on PC”

“Whenever you have a launch of a game, you also need some kind of virality or tailwinds to form around you,” he says. “To some extent, having your game on Game Pass means you might get people who are trying it and talking about it, generating more buzz.”

Porter concludes: “It’s a very complicated one to unpack what’s happening on Xbox. But if you look at the raw sales numbers, it does look a little bit less impressive than on PC – especially in those pricing categories.”