Even with the medium extending beyond the reaches of the platforms we play them on, video game software/hardware looks to continue its yearly increase in industry worth and could — solely on software and hardware alone — exceed total revenue of up to $165 billion and more by the end of 2018, a new report has estimated. According to Digi-Capital whom compiled the report, this increase could even pass the $200 billion mark and reach anywhere between $230 - $235 billion by the end of 2022. 

The report concludes that mobile gaming, PC hardware and online PC games (as well as additional sources of revenue on this platform such as DLC and paid subscriptions) will generate enough revenue to constitute nearly three-quarters of the industry’s total market share by 2022. However, while mobile and PC platforms look to continue their dominance financially, the report claims that console games — be it physical or digitally bought — may in fact see the start of a long-term decline with PC games taking up one third of all games revenue by this same period.

Despite the increased interest from a consumer stand-point and the upturn in marketing and promotion from developers/publishers themselves, revenue generated by eSports was minuscule in comparison with the possibility of it only constituting less than one percent, at best, of the total revenue share in four years time. The Asian market has also been so strong that last year it managed to beat out the total revenue of both North America and Western Europe combined - driven mostly by mobile games. The report ends with a prediction that the surge in success/acclaim of independent developers could see the rise of new faces alongside early-stage sectors (such as VR) proving an even greater success in the years to come.