Pandemic Video-Game Boom Sends Sales Forecasts Soaring

(Bloomberg) -- The video-game boom caused by the pandemic is expected to send industry revenue up 20% this year to $174.9 billion, outstripping earlier forecasts and dwarfing the market’s growth in 2019.

The projected revenue, which includes mobile, console and personal-computer games, will climb three times faster than last year, according to new estimates from research firm Newzoo. The forecaster had to make the biggest-ever adjustment in its outlook to account for the bump from the pandemic.

Lockdowns around the world drew more customers to gaming, but Newzoo doesn’t expect this increased engagement to vanish once the pandemic eases. The industry’s new stature will bolster growth for years to come: Revenue should increase about 9.4% a year between 2018 and 2023, reaching $217.9 billion, Newzoo said. The firm had previously forecast $200.8 billion for 2023.

Mobile gaming should account for the biggest share of growth in 2020, rising an estimated 26%. Zynga Inc., the maker of Words With Friends and Merge Dragons!, will provide more perspective on that market segment when it reports results on Wednesday afternoon.

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