The Market
Last updated
Last updated
The global entertainment & media (E&M) industry surged ahead last year, strongly outpacing overall global economic growth. Following a pandemic-related 2.3% decline in 2020, E&M revenue rose a strong 10.4% in 2021, from US$2.1T to US$2.3T.
With the industry becoming more digital, more mobile and more youth-oriented, virtual reality (VR) and gaming are powerful growth drivers, while digital advertising permeates all of the industry. These are findings from, the 23rd annual analysis and forecast of E&M spending by consumers and advertisers across 52 countries and territories.
Global video games and esports revenue totaled US$215.6bn in 2021 and is forecast to grow at a 8.5% CAGR to US$323.5B in 2026. Asia Pacific generated the lion’s share of revenues in 2021 with US$109.4B, almost double North America, the second highest region. Gaming is now the third-largest data-consuming E&M content category, behind video and communications.
VR continues to be the fastest-growing E&M segment, albeit from a relatively small base. Global VR spend rose by 36% y-o-y in 2021 to US$2.6bn, following on the hot 39% growth in 2020. Growth between 2021 and 2026 is expected at 24% CAGR, bringing the segment to US$7.6B. Gaming content is the primary contributor to VR revenue, taking in US$1.9B in 2021. This should increase to US$6.5B in 2026, 85% of total VR revenue.
The global metaverse market size is expected to reach $1.6 trillion in 2030, growing at a CAGR of 43.3%, due to the rising popularity of online gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto gaming, according to a 2022 report by .