The Evolving Landscape of Video Gaming Payments: 2024 Snapshot
The video gaming industry has become one of the most powerful segments in the global entertainment economy — and it’s only getting bigger. As gaming expands across platforms, markets, and technologies, payments are emerging as a key enabler of both monetization and user experience.
📊 Industry Size & Growth
As of 2024, the global video gaming industry generated $184.3 billion in revenue1. While the overall growth was modest at 0.2% YoY, mobile gaming accounted for $92.5 billion (50% of total revenue), growing 2.8% year-on-year.
Console gaming contributed $50.3 billion, showing a 4% decline, while PC gaming generated $41.5 billion, declining slightly by 0.2%1.
🧩 Key Players in the Global Market
Here are the top revenue-generating companies in the gaming space2:
- Tencent – $30.1B
- Sony – $18.3B
- Microsoft – $16.2B
- Apple – $15.8B
- NetEase – $9.6B
These players not only publish and distribute games, but also integrate deep fintechFintech fintech Short for financial technology, refers to tech-enabled innovation in financial services. infrastructure — from microtransaction engines to wallet ecosystems.
🌍 Regional Insights
- China continues to dominate, with revenues reaching $44.8B in 2024, driven by game releases and a player base of 674 million3.
- Brazil leads Latin America with $2.46B in gaming revenue, followed by Mexico at $1.71B4.
The Asia-Pacific region continues to account for more than half the world’s gaming revenues, while Latin America, Middle East, and Africa are emerging as growth frontiers.
🧮 TAM & Projections
The Total Addressable Market (TAM) is forecasted to grow from $221B in 2024 to $266B by 2028, representing a CAGR of 5%5. This expansion is powered by mobile, cloud gaming, and the rise of new monetization models.
💳 Payments in Gaming
The shift to digital distribution has transformed how gamers pay. In 2024, physical game sales dropped to less than half of their 2021 volumes6. Payments now must be:
- Frictionless: In-app and in-game purchasing with minimal steps.
- Localized: Supporting preferred methods (e.g. PIX in Brazil, UPI in India).
- Regulatory-compliant: Especially with minors, loot boxes, and tokenized assets.
Mobile walletsWallets wallets See Digital Wallets., carrier billing, subscription models, and even crypto are becoming part of the gaming payments landscape.
✅ Key Takeaways for Stakeholders
Plan for Web3: GameFi, token-based economies, and NFTs could influence payment architecture.
Monitor platform shifts — especially mobile and cloud.
Localize your payments stack to win in emerging markets.
Enable microtransactions with secure, low-latencyLatency latency The delay between a payment initiation and its processing or confirmation. payment flows.
Track regulatory risks in each market, especially for in-game monetization.
Further Reading
Vibhu is a global payments leader and PhD researcher in real-time payments, dedicated to making payments simpler, smarter, and more inclusive. With 20 years of payments experience across Citibank, Adyen, IKEA, Snapdeal, iPayLinks — and markets spanning India, China, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Australia— he brings a truly global perspective to the future of money. Vibhu is also the founder of PaymentsPedia.com, a knowledge hub where he shares insights on cards, crypto, cross-border flows, and real-time rails.📧 vibhu@paymentspedia.com | LinkedIn