Although the major part of global gaming revenues comes from China and the United States as the largest gaming markets, the two countries are not even in the top five in terms of user penetration rate in the gaming segment.
According to data presented by Fair Betting Sites, Japan and the United Kingdom ranked as the top two gaming nations, with a user penetration rate of 58% in 2022.
The United Kingdom to Overtake Japan and become the World`s Top Gaming Nation by 2027
Japan has consistently placed first or second in terms of user penetration rate in the gaming segment, according to a Statista Digital Market Outlook. In 2017, 53% of the country’s population considered themselves gamers, 5% less than in 2022.
The United Kingdom ranked as the world’s second-largest gaming nation with also a 58% penetration rate in 2022, a considerable increase from 50% in 2017.
South Korea, home to many elite eSports players and organizations, came third with a 57% user penetration rate. Mexico and Sweden follow, with 53% and 51%, respectively.
However, Statista expects the United Kingdom to overtake Japan and become the world`s largest gaming nation in the future. By 2027, 70% of UK residents are set to qualify as gamers, showing the importance of the market. Japan is forecast to rank second, with a 67% user penetration rate.
Statistics show South Korea will remain the world`s third largest gaming nation, with 64% of the population qualifying as gamers five years from now. Sweden is set to increase its share of gamers to 64% by then, and Nigeria will enter the top five, with a 63% penetration rate in the gaming segment.
Gaming Market to Hit 2.5 Billion Users in 2022; 30% of the World`s Population
Thanks to the surging user base, video games have become the highest-grossing segment of the media industry, expected to generate over $208bn in revenue this year.
Statista data show the number of users in the gaming market is set to reach almost 2.5 billion in 2022, down from an all-time peak of 2.6 billion last year. Mobile games still have the highest number of users, 1.6 billion in 2022.
Statista expects more than 2.8 billion people to play video games by 2027, while the number of users in the mobile gaming market is set to jump to 1.85 billion by then.
