The video game subscription wars are on

Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple are in a race to be the “Netflix of video games.”

How this works: The physical purchase of games on a console (Xbox, etc.) currently accounts for 11% of video game revenue as the dominant business model has shifted to mobile (in-app purchases, etc.). This next trend shifts this further toward a subscription service that provides access to a library of games on demand.

Wow: 200M people watched 50B+ hours of video game content on YouTube last year. That is 250 hours per person!

Flashback: Fortnite tops SuperData’s 2018 chart with $2.4 billion digital revenue

Global video game revenue by year (% growth):
1) 2017 — $99B
2) 2018 — $110B (↑ 11%)

Global video game revenue by platform (% of total):
1) Mobile — $61B (56%)
2) PC — $36B (33%)
3) Console — $13B (11%)

Global video game revenue by purchase type (% of total):
1) Free-to-play — $88B (80%)
2) Premium — $22B (20%)

eSports revenue per year according to eMarketer (YoY growth):
1) 2017 — $103M
2) 2018 — $143M (↑ 39%)
3) 2019P — $178M (↑ 25%)
4) 2020P — $214M (↑ 20%)

The big time: The Simpson recently parodied eSports, so you know this is going to be huge!

More #1: Streaming to subscriptions: Video games enter new frontiers

More #2: Video game stores are the new record stores

More #3: How the NBA Is Using Esports to Grow Its Audience

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