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Gaming generated R1 trillion in revenue this year alone

Being a gamer in 2016 has been fantastic and by gamer we mean playing games because whether you favour mobile games or hardcore space-faring adventures like EVE: Online you helped grow the gaming industry this year.

Collectively the gaming industry generated $91 billion (R1.2 trillion) in revenue across all platforms. The biggest platform in games was mobile raking in $40.6 million (~R567 billion), which according to Super Data was aided by titles such as Pokemon GO which captured the attention of the world for a few months.

While Pokemon GO was big it didn’t generate the largest amount of revenue. The game that did that was Monster Strike which generated $1.3 billion between January and November.

The least profitable platform for gaming was VR. The platform managed to generate $2.7 billion (~R37 billion) but was hampered by the high cost of entry. The HTC Vive costs $799 (~R11 000) and that’s before you factor in the cost of the PC required to make the headset work.

Esports on the rise

While the revenue generated by esports is not as gargantuan a number as that the mobile platform boasts it isn’t exactly what one would call unprofitable. Collectively esports generated $892 million in revenue but despite this comparatively low figure, esports is gaining traction and the world is taking notice with TV network TBS broadcasting ELEAGUE an esports programme attracting 200 000 viewers on average.

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People watching esports in 2016 – 213.8 million

Betting – $58.9 million

Prize pools (collective) – $78.3 million

Brand involvement – $662 million

Largest prize pool – $20.8 million (Dota 2)

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The big winners in Triple A

At this time of year it is something of tradition to announce the game of the year. If that decision was based on revenue generated Call of Duty: Black Ops III would be the game of the year for consoles and Overwatch would take the PC award. Call of Duty generated $591.1 million in revenue this year putting a massive amount of revenue between it and the next biggest titled FIFA 16 which generated $387.4 million.

Blizzard’s Overwatch was only released in May of this year but the team shooter earned $585.6 million in revenue.

If all this talk of gaming has you itching to do more gaming this holiday why not check out our holiday gift guide for some of the best games you can play before the year is done.

 

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