According to Omdia's latest "Game Subscriptions and Cloud Gaming Market Forecast" report, global spending on game subscriptions is expected to reach US$19 billion in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth. Omdia estimates that by 2028, revenue in the global game subscription market will exceed US$27 billion.
The Omdia report covers 43 game subscription markets worldwide and categorizes all subscriptions into three major categories: game library services, in-game/single-game subscriptions, and platform subscriptions that offer various online features.
Game library services allow users to play a rotating catalog of games. They are projected to generate US$8 billion in revenue in 2024. In-game/single-game subscriptions and platform subscriptions are expected to generate US$7.4 billion and US$3.7 billion in revenue, respectively.
The report predicts that by the end of 2024, the total number of paid game subscriptions, excluding in-game subscriptions, will reach 168 million, growing to 203 million by 2028. Game subscription spending will surpass US$27 billion by 2028, accounting for 14% of total global gaming spending.
Omdia's data shows that Microsoft and Sony continue to dominate the game library services sector in 2024, with a combined subscription base of 82 million. The cloud gaming sector, which is particularly noteworthy within the subscription market, is expected to generate US$3.7 billion in revenue in 2024, growing to US$5.8 billion by 2028.
Much of the current cloud gaming revenue is driven by hybrid services such as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PlayStation Plus Premium, while purely cloud-based platforms like Amazon's Luna+ are expected to account for just 3% of the overall subscription market by 2028.
Omdia's analysts pointed out that subscription models offering exclusive content and multi-platform access have become an important part of top gaming companies' business strategies. However, maintaining the development of major game titles within this model poses a significant financial challenge.
As a result, analysts believe that subscriptions will continue to grow as a supplementary source of revenue but will not replace other profit-generating methods.
