Monthly global player spending on PUBG Mobile amounted to 57.58 million U.S. dollars in December 2024. Debuting as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, the game was first released for Windows in December 2017, with the mobile version being released worldwide in March 2018. Due to content restrictions on violence in China, a restricted version of PUBG called Game for Peace was released in the country in 2019. Within the game, players can buy in-game currency, which they can then use to purchase crates containing weapon customizations and character upgrades.

As of November 2024, Zhu Bocheng from China, also known as "paraboy", was the highest-earning PUBG Mobile eSports player worldwide. He has earned around **** million U.S. dollars throughout his recorded eSports gaming career.

As of December 2024, Park Jung Young from South Korea, also known as "Loki", was the highest-earning PUBG eSports player worldwide. He has earned around *** million U.S. dollars throughout his recorded eSports gaming career.

In 2024, PUBG Mobile, published by Tencent, became the highest-earning mobile game in Turkey, reaching an estimated revenue of ** million U.S. dollars.101 Yüzbir Okey Plus developed by Take-Two Interactive followed as second, with its revenue also estimated at ** million U.S. dollars.

First released at the start of 2017, PUBG: Battlegrounds (previously known as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) is one of the most popular games on Steam and had 944,484 peak concurrent players in the last recorded month, July 2025. The highest number of concurrent players was recorded in January 2018 at 3.24 million. One of the biggest games on Steam PUBG gained a devoted legion of fans in a short space of time after its release, and cumulative unit sales of the game hit 75 million in December 2021. The game has also been critically acclaimed — it won the Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards in 2017 and its free-to-play mobile version for Android and iOS, released in 2018, was nominated for Best Mobile Game at The 2018 Game Awards. This critical success has also translated into commercial success, as the game generated millions of U.S. dollars of revenue, most successfully in the United States. On January 12, 2022, the game has become free to play. Battle of the Battle Royale games PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is an online battle royale game in which up to 100 hundred players battle it out until there is only one player or one team left standing. This format of game has become very popular in recent years. While PUBG has a strong following, especially on Steam, it has come under pressure from rival battle royale game Fortnite. First released just several months after PUBG, Fortnite has since become a cultural phenomenon, amassing 500 million registered users in just six years. As of 2025, both PUB and Fortnite are still going strong with their loyal audiences.

Royal Match by Dream Games had the highest in-app revenue among mobile gaming apps in Russia in 2024, at almost 14 million U.S. dollars. The second position was occupied by PUBG Mobile by Shenzhen Tencent Tianyou Technology Ltd, with an in-app revenue of around 13.8 million U.S. dollars.

As of August 4, 2025, China accounted for 69 percent of global player spending on PUBG: Mobile over the past 30 days, while the United States contributed 8 percent. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) was first released for Windows in December 2017, with the mobile version being released worldwide in March 2018.

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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 period.

PUBG Mobile by Tencent was the top-grossing gaming app in Turkey, having reached an in-app revenue of over ** million U.S. dollars in 2024. Brawl Stars developed by Supercell had the second-highest IAP revenue among mobile gaming applications, amounting to ** million U.S. dollars in the same year.

In 2024, the in-app purchase (IAP) revenue of PUBG Mobile in India amounted to **** million U.S. dollars. Contrariwise, Ludo King, the most downloaded mobile game in India, raised less than ********* dollars during the same period. Despite being the leading market in terms of app downloads, monetization remains a major challenge for the Indian mobile game and apps market.

The Chinese entertainment conglomerate Tencent reported a **** percent increase in its overseas games revenues in 2024, largely attributed to the popularity of PUBG Mobile and Supercell’s games. Domestic sales contributed about ** percent of the company's gaming revenue.

Honor of Kings has been Tencent's revenue driver. As of January 2025, the gaming app has raked in more than 12.8 billion U.S. dollars in revenue across the Apple App Store and Google Play worldwide. However, the multiplayer game was not Tencent's most-downloaded mobile gaming title of all time — that title went to PUBG Mobile.

In 2024, South Korean video game holding company Krafton reported sales revenue of around *** trillion South Korean won. This represents an increase compared to the previous year. The company's most popular game, PUBG, was released in late 2017, helping revenue increase by around *** percent in the span of one year. Between 2014 and 2024, revenue increased by about ***** percent.

Honor of Kings is one of Tencent's gaming revenue drivers. In 2025 to date, the gaming app has raked in more than 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in revenue across the Apple App Store and Google Play worldwide. However, the multiplayer game was not Tencent's most-downloaded mobile gaming title of the year of 2025 — that title went to PUBG Mobile.

In 2024, South Korean video game holding company Krafton reported net profit of around *** trillion South Korean won. This represents an increase compared to the previous year. The company's most popular game, PUBG, was released in late 2017, helping revenue increase by around *** percent in the span of one year.

How many apps are there in the Play Store? The number of available apps in the Google Play Store was most recently placed at 1.68 million apps, after surpassing 1 million apps in July 2013. Google Play Store Google Play was originally launched in October 2008 under the name Android Market. As Google’s official app store, it offers its customers a wide range of applications and digital media including music, magazines, books, film, and TV. As of April 2021, the ranking of the top-grossing Android apps worldwide is dominated by mobile games with Coin Master, Garena Free Fire, and PUBG mobile leading the ranking. This hardly comes as a surprise as it is estimated that gaming apps will account for over 70 percent of Google Play app revenues in 2024. As most apps in the Google Play Store are available for free, the company needs to utilize effective business models to secure healthy revenue. How do apps make money? Despite the robust gaming app revenues, most gaming apps are free to download and rely on monetization via in-app advertising or in-game purchases of items such as boosters and accessories. A November 2021 survey of mobile app publishers found that video ads were the most popular mobile app monetization model, followed by display ads and in-app purchases. Additionally, monetizing via subscriptions has proven an effective model for several highly popular apps, with subscription revenues hitting 18.3 billion U.S. dollars in revenues in 2021.

Released on August 19, 2024, and selling 10 million copies within three days, Black Myth: Wukong is one of the fastest-selling video games of all time. Heralded as the Chinese video game industry's first AAA video game production, the title was released on PC and PS5 with an Xbox version following shortly. Black Myth: Wukong was published by Game Science, which is backed by Tencent Gaming, one of the biggest gaming companies in China and worldwide. Lifetime unit sales of Black Myth: Wukong are currently at 25 million units. A record-breaking game release After first teasing the game in 2020, the anticipation for Black Myth: Wukong was extremely high. The title made headlines when Game Science revealed that it would transition the game’s development to the newly released game engine Unreal 5, making it one of the first major titles to do so. This hype caused the game to top charts as soon as pre-orders became available in summer 2024. Apart from selling an unprecedented number of copies within just a few days, Black Myth: Wukong crushed the competition in terms of user engagement, setting records as the second-most played video games on Steam based on peak concurrent players. A week post release, Wukong claimed over 2.4 million peak concurrent users on PC, ranking only behind PUBG, which is even more impressive considering that PUBG is a free-to-play online multiplayer title. Most Black Myth: Wukong’s sales are domestic, based on the fact that the majority of the over half a million reviews on Steam are in Chinese. Additionally, Chinese gamers accounted for about a third of Steam audiences, with nearly 32 percent of Steam users having Simplified Chinese and another 1.2 percent using Traditional Chinese as the language for the PC gaming platform. China’s gaming industry is starting to take off internationally Despite being the biggest video gaming market worldwide based on revenue, the Chinese gaming industry has been hampered by a gaming console ban (which has now been lifted), as well as strict regulations regarding video game releases and gaming consumption among citizens. Some of these strict regulations have caused raised eyebrows during the release of Black Myth: Wukong, as gaming content creators and streamers revealed they had been sent a list of topics to avoid talking about while livestreaming the game. Despite these growing pains, the Chinese gaming industry has been gaining international traction in recent years. Limited to mobile or domestic releases for long, China is now known for leading the way in free-to-play action role-playing titles like Genshin Impact, which gave rise to an entire genre of anime-style open-world online games. There are several factors that play into the popularity of Black Myth: Wukong. One of the key factors of the action game’s success is the source material – the main character of Black Myth: Wukong is based on Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King, a key character in Journey to the West, a beloved piece of classic Chinese literature which has inspired hundreds of interpretations on TV shows, cartoons, movies, and other media adaptions. The cultural relevance of the topic can be regarded as a soft-power move to promote Chinese culture through media content, which is currently booming internationally as Chinese TV drama productions are also gaining more international popularity among Western audiences.

In 2024, the value of liabilities held by South Korean video game holding company Krafton stood at around *** trillion South Korean won. This represents a decrease compared to the previous year. The company's most popular game, PUBG, was released in late 2017, helping revenue increase by around *** percent in the span of one year.

In 2024, four out of the ten highest-earning game apps worldwide were published by Chinese companies. Tencent's flagship title Honor of Kings ranked second, raking in over *** billion U.S. dollars of revenue. PUBG Mobile, also from Tencent, came in sixth, followed by Whiteout Survival and Dungeon & Fighter: Origins.