Gaming Market Business Activities to Surpass $150B in 2022, Report Says

A report forecasts that the gaming market, including deals, and fundraising exercises, will amount to more than $150 billion in 2022.

According to investment banking firm Drake Star Partners, the video gaming sector will hit a market valuation of over $150 billion in 2022. This will encompass deals, financing, and initial public offerings, the forecast added.

The gaming sector began this year with two mega acquisitions. The first one was Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), pitching almost $70 billion for video game giant Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI). There was also an $11 million bid from video game holding company Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) for social game developer Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA). The combined sum of these two deals is already approaching the $85 billion record haul from 2020. However, hitting this number required 1,159 deals. Meanwhile, in 2021, the total value of deals recorded was almost three times as much as 2020’s $85-million haul.

Covid Helped to Usher in a New Era of Mobile Gaming

The global pandemic played a key role in bringing mobile gaming to the spotlight. Several people who were new to the gaming industry took to gaming on their mobile phones as a way to pass the initial lockdown. Upon the subsequent easing of the stay-at-home restrictions, even long-time gamers began to switch from home consoles to phones as they stepped out more.

As a result, the distinguishing differences between PC and mobile gaming companies are becoming less apparent. This is all the more so as proponents in the gaming industry continue to explore new ways of generating revenue. According to Michael Metzger of Drake Star:

“We’re in the middle of a large number of deals right now and the state continues to stay very hot.”

More Tech Giants Expected to Enter the 2022 Gaming Market

Some notable heavyweights particularly known for pursuing movers’ advantage within the tech space are yet to make a ‘gaming-centric’ move. They include e-commerce behemoth Amazon and streaming powerhouse Netflix. However, according to Metzger, that might change sooner rather than later, with the aforementioned duo looking to stake huge bets. Meanwhile, in Asia, mainstays such as Tencent (HKG: 0700), ByteDance, and Netease (HKG: 9999) are also looking in. In addition, South Korea’s Krafton (KRX: 259960), and Japan’s Sony (TYO: 6758) are also on the radar.

The Metaverse

Many of these developments happening in and around the gaming industry are part of a broader view of being part of the metaverse. The metaverse is an emerging virtual world that features a host of decentralized offerings via various methods, including Web3, crypto and blockchain, DeFi, and NFTs. Several notable gaming companies that create products for the blockchain are already reaping sizable success in the metaverse. These include Animoca Brands, among others. Furthermore, prominent games already on the blockchain are The Sandbox, Decentraland, and Axie Infinity.

In addition to the aforementioned decentralized offerings, the emerging metaverse also supports the holistic use of virtual and augmented reality. This is a tech concept where people can deploy specialized tools and equipment to interact with countless virtual entities. Furthermore, interaction with such entities is fluid and instantaneously responsive like it is in the real physical world.

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Tolu Ajiboye

Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.