In the era of smartphone and mobile gaming, the growth of PC Gaming industry is not only keeping its grounds safe, but also growing at a faster pace than other gaming consoles and phone/tablets. According to the latest report from Open Gaming Alliance (OGA), the PC Gaming industry is estimated to be worth $35 billion by 2018, a staggering growth of 33% in the next four years. The report also highlights the fact that electronic sports (also known as esports) and large multiplayer games are emerging as the main drivers of the growth of PC Gaming industry. Besides, games that have adopted freemium model are key indicators of the market health.

The improving infrastructure across the globe is helping video gaming industry to grow faster than before. In 2013, 71.5 million esports viewers turned to watch competitors who compete for over $25 million prize money, according to SuperData. That is not all; another study, conducted by Eventbrite this year, showed that esports players are comparatively highly engaged with the gaming community and are tend to spend more money on games.

“Much of the growth is driven by pure demographics. We continue to identify a core group of consumers for whom playing on the PC is a major pastime,” says DFC analyst David Cole. “This is, in fact, a fairly new demographic that skews highly male and is only increasing in buying power.”

On the other hand, as it’s clearly visible in the above graph, handheld gaming devices industry is slowly heading towards near death. However, the 3 Console market is showing signs of improvement after the declining market in the last two years. The mobile gaming in phones and tablets is expected to be over $30 billion by 2018, thanks to the explosive adoption of low-price smartphones and tablet in emerging markets.

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These statistics clearly paint a promising picture of overall gaming industry. While PC, mobile and 3 Consoles games are becoming instrumental for the projected growth, some of the leading online gambling sites, such as Casino.com, are also making a significant contribution to this growth.

In the last few years, Asia has driven the growth of PC Gaming. Now there are 86 million PCs outside ASIA that could be the target market for potential gaming companies. Interestingly, PC owners, outside ASIA, spend much more money on hardware and software and upgrades their devices at regular intervals. And, the very factor will help the potential gamers to join the industry without much of hiccups.

“The recipe that keeps PC gaming on top is simple,” says OGA board member and Research Subcommittee chair, Matt Ployhar: “the platform is accessible to all markets, and especially so with the free-to-play and freemium content; the hardware continues to evolve with gamers’ lifestyles, offering more choice and freedom; and, due to the ubiquity of PC’s globally, it’s easier to share, communicate and be more sociable with friends and family.”

But, everything is not favoring the growing gaming market. As people are spending more time on mobile and tablet devices, it’s definitely a matter of concern, as mobile gamers don’t tend to penetrate the esports market, which is primarily dominated by PC games.