Gaming in 2025: A Year of Contradictions
The gaming industry in 2025 is booming yet struggling. Discover the facts on revenue, layoffs, big releases like GTA 6, and the future of gaming.
The gaming industry in 2025 is in a strange position. On the surface, it looks like it’s doing better than ever.
Last year, the global gaming market brought in $187.7 billion, a small but steady 2.1% growth compared to the previous year.
Players are still spending money, new games are being released, and the industry is pushing forward with big launches like Grand Theft Auto 6 and Nintendo Switch 2.
But at the same time, there’s trouble behind the scenes. In 2024 alone, more than 14,600 jobs were lost in gaming. Big studios, once considered stable, have shut down or significantly downsized. Even major publishers are cutting projects.
Developers are struggling with rising costs, long development cycles, and the constant pressure to make every game a billion-dollar hit.
So, how can both things be true at the same time? How can gaming be making more money than ever, while studios are shutting down and people are losing jobs?
The answer lies in the way the industry is structured. Gaming has become a high-risk, high-reward business, where only the biggest hits survive. The market is moving towards digital-first gaming, with physical game sales making up less than 5% of total revenue.
Mobile gaming is still growing, while traditional console and PC gaming are shrinking. And with player habits shifting, some companies are making record profits, while others are struggling to break even.
For gamers, this means more big-budget releases but fewer mid-sized or experimental games. For developers, it means working under increasing pressure to deliver “instant hits” or risk losing their jobs.
In this article, we’ll break down what’s happening in gaming in 2025, looking at the winners and losers, the biggest trends, and where the industry is headed next.
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The Gaming Market: Winners and Losers
The gaming industry might be making more money than ever, but not every part of it is benefiting. The market is shifting, and that means some areas are growing while others are struggling.
Let’s start with the big winner: mobile gaming. In 2024, mobile games brought in $92.5 billion, making up half of the entire gaming market. Unlike other segments, mobile gaming actually grew by 2.8%, while console and PC games either stayed flat or declined.
The reason? Mobile games are easy to access, free-to-play models keep pulling in casual players, and in-game purchases are still a massive revenue driver.
On the other hand, console and PC gaming are losing ground. Console games made $50.3 billion in 2024, but that was actually a 4% drop from the year before. PC gaming held steady at $41.5 billion, but even that showed a small 0.2% decline.
It’s clear that traditional gaming is facing challenges, especially as more players stick to a few major franchises rather than trying out new releases.
Another major shift is the move to digital. Less than 5% of all games sold in 2024 were physical copies. This means players are downloading their games, subscribing to gaming services, or spending money inside games rather than buying them outright.
While this is great for companies that run subscription models and live-service games, it’s bad news for retailers and developers who still rely on one-time game sales.
So, who’s winning and who’s losing in this changing landscape?
- Winning: Mobile gaming, digital distribution platforms, subscription services, and long-running live-service games like Fortnite and Genshin Impact, which keep players engaged for years.
- Losing: Traditional console and PC games that rely on big launches, smaller studios trying to compete in a market dominated by mega-franchises, and physical game retailers that are seeing fewer people buy discs.
These trends explain why some companies are thriving while others are struggling. But there’s another major factor at play — the way publishers define success. That’s what we’ll look at next.
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The Unrealistic Expectations of Game Publishers
Making a great game is no longer enough. In today’s gaming industry, a game needs to be an instant blockbuster to be considered a success. And that’s a problem.
Look at what happened with Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The game launched in October 2024 and reached 1.5 million players in just a few months.
That’s a solid number, especially when you compare it to other RPGs like Metaphor: ReFantazio, which sold 1 million copies, or even Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which hit 2 million in a similar timeframe.
But despite this, publisher EA saw The Veilguard as a failure because it didn’t become a runaway hit.
This isn’t new. Back in 2013, Tomb Raider sold 3.4 million copies in its first month, yet Square Enix called it a disappointment. Why? Because the company expected it to sell even more. Today, those expectations have only gotten bigger.
For major publishers, games are no longer just games. They’re investments that need to deliver massive returns. Development budgets have skyrocketed, marketing campaigns are more expensive than ever, and companies want guaranteed profits.
If a game doesn’t become a multi-million seller right away, it’s often labeled a failure — even if millions of people are playing and enjoying it.
This kind of thinking has major consequences:
- Games are becoming riskier to make. Studios need to deliver “safe” hits, which means fewer original ideas and more sequels, remakes, and live-service games.
- Smaller games struggle to survive. Publishers are focusing on big franchises because they bring in predictable revenue. Mid-budget and niche titles, once a core part of gaming, are disappearing.
- Developers are under extreme pressure. Teams work on games for years, only for them to be deemed a failure if they don’t break sales records immediately. In many cases, this leads to layoffs or even studio closures.
This is one of the main reasons the industry lost 14,600 jobs in 2024. It’s not that people aren’t playing games — it’s that companies expect every game to be a massive hit, and when that doesn’t happen, studios pay the price.
But will 2025 change that? With Grand Theft Auto 6 and other major releases on the horizon, some are betting that big games can save the industry. The question is, can these high-profile titles actually fix what’s broken?
That’s what we’ll explore next.
2025’s Game Releases: Can Big Titles Save the Industry?
The gaming industry has had a rough couple of years, but 2025 is packed with big releases. If there’s anything that can inject new energy into the market, it’s a major game launch. And no game is bigger than Grand Theft Auto 6.
Rockstar’s next open-world juggernaut is expected to generate $3.2 billion in its first year alone. That’s not just gaming money — that’s blockbuster Hollywood-level revenue. With GTA 6 coming in fall 2025, analysts are predicting it will dominate not just the gaming space, but entertainment as a whole.
But it’s not just Rockstar making big moves. Nintendo is also stepping up with the launch of the Switch 2. After years of rumors, the new console is finally arriving in 2025, and it could give the console market the push it desperately needs.
The Switch 2 will likely come with a strong lineup of first-party Nintendo games, which have historically driven hardware sales.
Beyond GTA 6 and the Switch 2, other major titles are set to define the year:
- Elden Ring: Nightreign — The highly anticipated expansion to Elden Ring, one of the biggest gaming hits of the past decade.
- Monster Hunter Wilds — The next evolution in the Monster Hunter franchise, which has a massive global following.
- Doom: The Dark Ages — A new take on the classic shooter, bringing the demon-slaying action to a medieval setting.
- Fable — A long-awaited reboot of the beloved RPG series, aiming to bring the franchise back to life.
These games, along with many others, are expected to pull in huge player numbers and bring in billions in revenue. But here’s the question:
Can big game releases fix the industry’s problems?
If GTA 6 sells as expected, it will be a massive win for Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive. But the reality is, one or two hits won’t solve the industry’s bigger issues.
The gaming business has become so focused on mega-hits that anything less than record-breaking success is considered a failure. And that’s a dangerous cycle.
A strong lineup of releases in 2025 will bring excitement, but it won’t change the fact that:
- The cost of making games is higher than ever.
- Mid-sized studios are struggling to compete with billion-dollar franchises.
- Publishers still expect instant success, and games that sell millions can still be seen as disappointments.
So while 2025 has some of the most anticipated game launches in years, the real question is what happens after these games come out. Will the industry keep chasing billion-dollar hits, or will it start looking for a more sustainable way forward?
That’s where we turn next: the future of gaming beyond 2025.
What’s Next? The Future of Gaming
The gaming industry in 2025 is at a turning point. While major releases like Grand Theft Auto 6 and Elden Ring: Nightreign will dominate headlines, they won’t solve the industry’s deeper issues.
Game companies need to rethink how they do business, because the current model — chasing billion-dollar hits while cutting costs everywhere else — isn’t sustainable.
So what’s next for gaming? Where is the industry heading beyond 2025?
Short-Term Challenges: The Risk of More Layoffs and Studio Closures
Despite strong revenue growth, 2024 saw 14,600 industry layoffs. Many of these came from companies restructuring or shutting down studios that failed to produce mega-hits.
This trend could continue into 2025 if publishers don’t adjust their expectations.
Even if GTA 6 and Monster Hunter Wilds sell millions of copies, that success won’t reach every developer.
The industry is still dominated by a handful of companies, and if mid-tier studios keep closing, gaming could become even more focused on a few major franchises while smaller and experimental games disappear.
Long-Term Growth: Will Gaming Reach $321 Billion by 2026?
Despite its problems, the gaming industry is still growing. Analysts project that by 2026, gaming could be worth $321 billion. This growth will likely come from three key areas:
Mobile Gaming Continues to Dominate
- With $92.5 billion in revenue in 2024, mobile gaming is still the biggest part of the industry. It’s expected to grow further as more players in emerging markets turn to mobile-first gaming.
- Companies are focusing on cross-platform play, allowing console and PC players to connect with mobile users.
Cloud Gaming and Subscriptions Gain More Ground
- The shift away from physical game sales (which made up less than 5% of the market in 2024) will continue.
- Cloud gaming, once a niche concept, is becoming more mainstream, with companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Nvidia investing heavily in streaming technology.
- Subscription services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus will play a bigger role in how people access games.
AI and Live-Service Games Will Change Development
- AI is expected to be a bigger part of game development, speeding up production and reducing costs for studios.
- Live-service games like Fortnite and Genshin Impact have proven that continuous content updates can keep players engaged for years. More studios may follow this model, but not every game can sustain long-term engagement.
The Real Question: Can the Industry Fix Its Expectations?
Growth is expected, but the bigger issue is whether publishers will finally adjust their expectations.
Not every game can be a billion-dollar hit, and if companies continue to treat anything less than record-breaking success as failure, the industry will keep seeing waves of layoffs and closures.
At some point, gaming will need to find a middle ground — where smaller games can thrive, studios don’t live in fear of being shut down, and companies understand that a game doesn’t need to be a blockbuster to be profitable.
Whether that happens in 2025, 2026, or later remains to be seen.
Is Gaming at a Crossroads?
The gaming industry in 2025 is full of contradictions. It’s bigger than ever, yet thousands of developers have lost their jobs. It’s generating billions, yet many games are labeled as failures.
It’s expanding into new technologies, yet struggling to sustain smaller studios.
At the heart of the issue is a simple reality: gaming has become a high-risk, high-reward business, where only the biggest hits survive.
Games like Grand Theft Auto 6 will make billions, but that success won’t fix an industry where even 1.5 million players isn’t enough to call a game a success.
This is the crossroads gaming now faces. If companies continue expecting every game to be a mega-hit, more studios will shut down. If publishers don’t rethink their business models, talented developers will keep leaving the industry.
And if smaller games don’t get the chance to thrive, we’ll end up with a gaming landscape dominated by just a handful of franchises.
But there’s another path — one where gaming doesn’t just chase record-breaking numbers but supports a wider range of experiences. Where success isn’t just measured in launch-week sales but in how well a game grows over time.
The next few years will decide which direction gaming takes. One thing is clear: players will keep playing. The question is whether the industry will keep up.
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