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| Games are no longer competing only with each other, but with streaming and social platforms for the same limited hours. |
The games industry is ending 2025 on a stronger footing than it has seen in years. That framing came up during a recent CNBC International interview with George Jijiashvili, Senior Principal Analyst at Omdia, where the discussion focused on how the industry has recovered from a long, flat post-pandemic stretch. According to figures shared during the segment, global consumer spending on games reached $190 billion USD in 2025, marking a 10 percent year-over-year increase.
Those numbers are worth noting, but the bigger takeaway is what came next. The conversation was less about celebrating a rebound and more about explaining why growth alone does not solve the industry’s deeper issues.
The central problem is not how much money is being spent. It is how that money is being divided across more games, more platforms, and a limited amount of player time. Even as spending rises, attention remains tight. That imbalance shapes nearly every challenge studios and platforms now face, from discoverability to rising costs and regulation.
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| George Jijiashvili discussing games industry growth, discovery challenges, and AI during a CNBC International interview. |
Spending Is Up but Time Is Still the Limiting Factor
According to the data discussed, mobile games continue to dominate global spending. They account for roughly 60 percent of total consumer spend, followed by consoles at 23 percent and PC at 17 percent. The split has not changed dramatically, but the implications are becoming clearer.
The number of people playing games on console and PC is growing slowly, if at all. At the same time, the number of games launching each year keeps climbing. That gap creates intense competition for a fixed amount of free time. Games are no longer competing only with each other. They are competing with video platforms, social media, and streaming services that all want the same hours.
That reality has also been acknowledged by major publishers. In an interview with The New York Times, Matt Booty discussed why Xbox has been expanding its multiplatform approach, including bringing Halo to PlayStation. The reasoning was not framed around hardware competition, but around where people already spend their time. Games are increasingly competing with everything else that fills a day, not just other consoles.
This is why growth figures can feel disconnected from day to day reality. Spending may rise, but the path to being noticed has become narrower. For many games, the challenge is no longer quality or even marketing reach. It is simply finding space in an overcrowded schedule.
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| A CNBC International graphic showing the breakdown of global game spending in 2025, based on Omdia data. |
Consoles Are Still Central to Big Budget Games
There is ongoing debate about whether consoles are losing relevance as more games move online or across devices. The numbers tell a steadier story. Consoles still represent nearly a quarter of global game spending, and they remain the foundation for high end releases.
Large scale games depend on console ecosystems for visibility, performance expectations, and sales volume. Upcoming releases like Grand Theft Auto VI were cited as the kind of premium launch that can lift hardware sales and dominate attention when they arrive. That influence alone reinforces the role consoles continue to play.
Rather than fading away, consoles act as anchors. They support premium development and set technical baselines that ripple outward to PC and other platforms. The conversation is less about consoles disappearing and more about how they coexist with mobile growth and online services.
The Content Crush Is Getting Worse
One of the clearest ideas raised in the discussion was what Omdia describes as the “content crush.” Every year brings more releases across console, PC, and mobile. Meanwhile, the overall player base expands slowly. That imbalance creates a crowded market where even strong games struggle to break through.
Long running franchises and so called forever games absorb a growing share of attention. These games are designed to be played continuously, leaving less room for newcomers. At the same time, short form video and social platforms pull attention away from games entirely. For studios of all sizes, this means discoverability and retention now matter as much as development itself. Making a good game is no longer enough. Getting it seen, remembered, and returned to is the real fight.
That shift has also changed how games break through. We looked at this from a creator perspective in Creators Decide What Gamers Play More Than Ads or Publishers, which examines how streamers, video platforms, and social reach increasingly shape what gets noticed. This pressure around discoverability has been building for years. We looked at this problem more closely in a recent article on AI Is Flooding Games With Content and Discovery Is the Real Problem. The article digs deeper into why finding the right game is becoming just as difficult as making one.
AI Will Raise Costs Before It Changes Games
Artificial intelligence came up repeatedly in the conversation, but not in the way marketing often presents it. While AI tools are expected to become more visible in games starting in 2026, their first major impact may be financial.
AI driven demand for memory, processing power, and data centre capacity is pushing infrastructure costs upward. That pressure affects everything from consoles and PC components to the servers that run live games. As costs rise, the expense of maintaining online games rises with them.
Consumers have not pushed back strongly against AI use so far. Inside the industry, the discussion is far more active. Questions around jobs, workflows, and long term sustainability remain open. What is clear is that AI is not a shortcut to cheaper development. In many cases, it increases the cost of doing business.
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| Omdia analyst George Jijiashvili speaking on CNBC International about AI becoming more visible in games in 2026. |
Regulation Around Children Is Starting to Shape Design
Another pressure point building quietly is regulation around children and online safety. Laws such as the UK’s Online Safety Act and Australia’s under-16 social media ban were cited as examples of a broader shift. Governments are paying closer attention to how young users interact with online platforms.
Game companies are already responding. Platforms like Roblox were discussed as making changes ahead of regulation, rather than waiting to be forced. These moves affect social features, communication tools, and monetisation systems.
This trend is expected to continue into 2026 and beyond. For developers and publishers, child safety is no longer a side consideration. It is becoming a core design and compliance issue that shapes how games are built and supported.
Looking Ahead to 2026
The takeaway from this year end snapshot is not that the industry is booming or struggling. It is that growth has returned, but pressure has increased alongside it. More money is being spent, but attention is harder to earn. Costs are rising, not falling. Regulation is tightening, not loosening.
2026 was discussed as a year expected to bring further growth, with projections pointing to another strong year. At the same time, the underlying challenges remain unresolved. Discovery, sustainability, and competition for time will define which games succeed and which quietly disappear.
This pressure on attention also helps explain why buying habits have shifted, even in a year where spending is up overall. We explored that side of the issue earlier in Gamers Are Buying Less And It Is Not Just About Price, which looks at how time, backlog size, and perceived value increasingly shape what people choose to buy.
For anyone following the industry closely, the message is clear. Growth alone does not fix structural problems. How the industry responds to these constraints will matter far more than headline numbers in the years ahead.
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