In 2024, Clash of Clans generated over 355 million U.S. dollars in in-app purchase revenues. Supercell's main IP is still going strong after it's initial release in 2012. The more recently released Clash Royale generated 202 million U.S. dollars in IAP revenues during the same period.

First released in 2012, Clash of Clans is a mobile strategy game developed by Supercell. Although the game is free to download, players can purchase gems, the in-game currency, to advance their villages and acquire special items. In-app revenue within the game peaked at a cumulative 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. In 2024, this figure had declined to a still impressive 355 million U.S. dollars.

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Game Streaming Market Size 2024-2028

The game streaming market size is forecast to increase by USD 1.05 billion at a CAGR of 8.51% between 2023 and 2028.

The market is experiencing significant growth, driven by several key trends. One notable trend is the increasing popularity of eSports tournaments, which have gained massive followings and sponsorships from major brands. Another trend is the growing demographic of women gamers, who now represent a substantial portion of the gaming community. Additionally, the health benefits of gaming, such as improved cognitive function and stress relief, are increasingly being recognized. These factors, among others, are fueling the growth of the market. However, challenges remain, including the need for high-speed internet connections and the potential for addiction and negative health effects. Despite these challenges, the market is poised for continued expansion as technology advances and gaming becomes more mainstream.

What will be the Size of the Game Streaming Market During the Forecast Period?

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The market is experiencing significant growth and transformation, driven by the growth in popularity of game streaming services and the mobile gaming sector. Major players in this market include Facebook Gaming and YouTube Gaming, which leverage their extensive user bases to offer live streaming and on-demand content. Cloud gaming platforms, such as Microsoft xCloud and Google Stadia, are revolutionizing the industry by enabling users to play high-quality games without the need for expensive hardware. Traditional gaming companies, like PlayStation and Xbox, have entered the fray with their respective streaming services, PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass. The market's size is projected to expand as technological development and infrastructure improvements facilitate smoother delivery of streaming content.
Content acquisition remains a key focus, with popular titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, PUBG Mobile, Clash Royale, and Free Fire attracting large audiences. Content creation and monetization options are also crucial, with streaming platforms providing tools and monetization options for content creators to engage their audiences effectively. The role of the YouTube network and other live streaming tools in this ecosystem cannot be overlooked, as they offer a significant reach and influence on consumer behavior. Overall, the market is poised for continued growth and innovation, fueled by the intersection of technological advancements and evolving consumer preferences.

How is this Game Streaming Industry segmented and which is the largest segment?

The game streaming industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD million' for the period 2024-2028, as well as historical data from 2018-2022 for the following segments.

Revenue Stream

  In-game advertising
  Subscription
  Others


Geography

  North America

    US


  Europe

    Germany
    UK


  APAC

    China
    Japan


  South America



  Middle East and Africa

By Revenue Stream Insights

The in-game advertising segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period.

The market experienced substantial growth in 2021, with in-game advertising emerging as the largest segment. This trend is anticipated to continue during the forecast period, fueled by the increasing popularity of social media and mobile gaming. In-game advertising integrates advertisements into desktop and mobile games through various formats such as ads, clips, billboards, and backdrop displays. These non-interruptive advertisements offer a smoother gaming experience for players while delivering stronger audio-visual effects for viewers. As the mobile gaming sector continues to expand, driven by smartphone penetration rates and the availability of high-speed connectivity, game streaming services like Facebook Gaming, YouTube Gaming, Microsoft xCloud, Google Stadia, PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass, League of Legends, Dota 2, PUBG Mobile, Clash Royale, and Free Fire are investing in strategic efforts to enhance their content delivery and monetization options.

Key technological developments, including the deployment of 5G networks by providers such as Optus and Pentanet, are further boosting the growth of the market. Content creators leverage live streaming tools like those offered by the YouTube network to engage audiences and monetize their content through platforms like Social Blade, where influencers like Germán Alejandro (JuegaGerman) and Garmendia Aranis have amassed significant followings.

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The in-game advertising segment was valued at USD 1.08 billion in 2018 and showed a gradual increase during the forecast peri

In 2024, Brawl Stars was Supercell's most popular app, with over 94 million combined downloads across the Apple App Store and Google Play Store worldwide. The multiplayer title was also Supercell's top-grossing game of the year. The success of freemium mobile games All of Supercell’s major mobile gaming releases successfully use the freemium business model. This is a strategy by which players can play the game free of charge, but money is required for additional features or in-game items. Some of these items enhance gameplay, while others are purely cosmetic. The freemium business model is a recipe for success – all the highest-grossing mobile gaming apps are free-to-play (F2P) with in-app purchases. Supercell – a Finnish gaming success story Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Supercell is a mobile game development company that debuted its first and only non-mobile gaming title, Gunshine.net, before switching to mobile gaming. In May 2012, Supercell published its first mobile game, Hay Day, a version of Zynga's successful Facebook game FarmVille. In August 2012, Supercell released Clash of Clans, and the rest is history – currently, Clash of Clans sits at over five billion U.S. dollars in lifetime gross and is still a popular title after a decade on the market.The success of these titles led to a rapid growth of Supercell and growing interest from Asian mobile leaders. A collaboration with Japanese video game company GungHo led to a later acquisition by GungHo and Softbank Corporation, a multinational investment company. GungHo and Softbank acquired 51 percent of Supercell’s shares for a total of 1.1 billion euros — the largest price for a Finnish private company ever. After various transactions, Supercell was bought out by Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings in 2016. In 2024, the annual revenue of Supercell amounted to approximately 1.44 billion U.S. dollars.

The eSports market is one of the fastest growing sectors within the media industry. One of the newer areas within this market is mobile eSports, in which video gamers compete against each other in tournaments involving mobile games such as PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, and Clash Royale. The revenue of the mobile eSports market was expected to grow from around 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 to over 5.4 billion U.S. dollars by 2030.

Mobile eSports - a growing market China is projected to be one of the largest mobile eSports markets by 2025, generating almost 360 million U.S. dollars of revenue within the industry. Unsurprisingly, China was also estimated to be home to the most mobile eSports viewers worldwide by 2025. An estimated 173.8 million viewers from China would be watching mobile eSports in that year, while the global figure was forecast to reach almost 550 million viewers. Current estimates suggest that there were approximately 418 million mobile eSports viewers across the globe.

PUBG Mobile PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is a multiplayer battle royale game which was first released in December 2017. In a similar vein to other battle royale games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, PUBG pits up to 100 online gamers against each other in a fight to the death until one player or one team is left standing. A mobile version of the game, PUBG Mobile, was released worldwide in March 2018 and became an immediate hit. Within the game, players have the ability to buy in-game currency which they can then use to purchase crates containing weapon customizations and character upgrades. As a result, player spending on PUBG Mobile reaches into the millions of U.S. dollars every month. With so much interest in the game, PUBG Mobile soon became an eSports hit, with the best players in the world competing in annual tournaments. The most prominent of these tournaments is the PUBG Mobile Pro League, which takes place annually across five regions.