5G will drive spending on mobile gaming from USD75 billion in 2020 to USD138 billion in 2025, when 30% of the smartphones worldwide will be 5G-enabled. 5G will strengthen the growth of mobile gaming services, giving gamers access to higher-value content. 5G will also enable the next generation of cloud-based gaming services to disrupt the market, because they will be available to new segments of consumers and will facilitate new gaming experiences, such as mixed reality (MR).
We estimate that 5G will create up to USD12.5 billion of retail revenue in 2025 that operators can target in these segments:
mobile cloud gaming revenue will grow from USD140 million in 2020 to USD6.4 billion in 2025
mobile XR gaming revenue will grow from USD1.4 billion in 2020 to USD6.1 billion in 2025.
5G offers a unique chance for operators to capture revenue growth in the mobile gaming value chain. Mobile gaming is one of the most likely solutions that operators can use to address the challenges of migrating customers from 4G. 5G will boost the growth potential of gaming, particularly mobile gaming, and will create the conditions for the next generation of services – and operators’ assets will be fundamental to the success of these services, enabling them to reach all consumers.