Xsolla: "Players are spending more on fewer, higher-quality titles"

The Q3 2025 edition offers perspectives on the direction of the market. The global player base is projected to reach 3.6 billion by the end of the year, with revenue set to hit $188.8 billion. This growth is being driven by consistent momentum, driven by factors such as console hardware refreshes, PC gains in Asia, and ongoing strength in the mobile sector.

China’s gaming market is projected to reach $50.7 billion by 2025, with mobile accounting for over 70% of revenue. Developers lean into niche genres, direct-to-fan models and user-generated content (UGC). The forecast for Europe is $33.1 billion in 2025, with mobile accounting for 44% of revenue. The Digital Markets Act continues to influence the dynamics of platform competition.

The following "actionable market signals" are mentioned:

- “Players are spending more on fewer, higher-quality titles, while live-ops, premium casual, and short-form content are boosting retention and monetization.
- Developers are prioritizing payment flexibility, onboarding speed, and automation to reduce friction and improve margins.
- Investment remains selective, with $193M in VC funding in Q2 2025, with Asia and North America leading in activity by region and deal count.”

"This year has been one of steady momentum across every major gaming market," said Chris Hewish, President at Xsolla. "Our State of Play report delivers the data and the context developers need to make decisions with confidence from payments and distribution to engagement and retention so they can scale thoughtfully in the months ahead."

The report features interviews and insights from industry leaders, as well as visualised data on global players, platform revenue, regional payment preferences and investment trends. It is available here.