Online gaming has developed into a massive industry and millions of people play online games daily. Games are a huge part of human culture, whether it be videogames, boardgames, or casino games. How we play games has changed a lot with the times and rather than having to meet up with friends to play a videogame on the same console, it is now possible to play against other people online. 2020 was a huge year for online gaming, but is it still as popular in 2022 as it was two years ago?

Online Gaming in 2020

When considering the number of people playing online games in 2020, we must take into account the pandemic. Clearly, a lot of people were at home, with activities outside the home severely restricted. This led to more people playing online games for the first time, whether it be online videogames or other types of online gaming, such as casinos. Figures show the global online gaming market generated approximately $21.1 billion in revenue in 2020, which is an astronomical amount of money. That number shows over 20% growth from the previous year but, again, we must consider the impact of the pandemic on the figures. 

Online Gaming in 2022

Fast forward to 2022 and it is estimated there are 1 billion online gamers worldwide. Asia has the largest number of online gamers, with China, Japan, and South Korea having the biggest gaming reach. If we look at the number of people playing online games in real-time, we can use the figures from Steam, the world’s leading online games provider. On the 16th of September 2022, close to 1 million people were playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at any one time. Over 700,000 people were playing Dota 2, and more than 400,000 people were playing PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and Apex Legends, respectively.

Activision Blizzard is a video game holding company responsible for producing some of the best online games. In the second quarter of 2022, the company recorded net revenue of $1.64 billion. If we consider that is the revenue for one gaming company, for one quarter of the year, it quickly becomes apparent online gaming is still extremely popular in 2022.

Smartphones

The continued growth in the number of people owning smartphones is having a significant impact on online gaming figures. Of the total global gaming revenue in 2022, close to 50% is expected to come from smartphone gaming. Only social media and shopping apps are more popular than mobile gaming apps. With in-app purchases proving popular in online mobile games, we can expect to see continued growth in this online gaming sector.

One element of online gaming we did not include in the statistics above is online casino gaming. Online gamblers look for different things when choosing an online casino, such as the choice of games, bonuses, and online casinos that have same day withdrawals. The global online gambling market grew from $58.9 billion in 2019 to $66.7 billion in 2020. This is expected to grow even further in 2022 to $81.08 billion and underlines how online gaming is still as popular in 2022 as it was in 2020.