If you are wondering how PC gaming is doing money-wise, it is still one of the top profitable industries in the world, particularly as many gamers are spending billions of dollars towards their preferred titles.
However, according to a recent report, based on the past year's revenue, it was revealed that the highest profits in the PC gaming industry does not come from game purchases but from the microtransactions from these games.
PC Gaming Revenue Earns More From Microtransactions
A report from Newzoo (via Techspot) revealed that, in 2024 alone, the PC gaming industry earned 58% of its revenue from microtransactions, making up more than the majority of its annual earnings in the last fiscal year.
Based on the report, $24.4 billion was spent on microtransactions alone, and the researchers claimed that the industry is seeing massive growth continuously.
This only goes to show that players are more than willing to spend for their favorite titles to build up their characters, progression, and more despite having to use real-world cash for these.
Some of the top known microtransactions include purchasing skins or cosmetics from their favorite titles, opting to buy a Battle Pass or other similar passes that focus on seasonal content, equipment, accessories, and more.
Based on Newzoo's study, the games that raked up massive revenue from microtransactions the most include "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6," "Roblox," and "Fortnite," with two of these known for being free-to-play games.
How About for the Purchases Made on DLCs?
It was also noted by the said study that this does not yet include the purchases that players made to get a game's downloadable content (DLC) or the expansion from developers.
For these types of additional content, players have spent a collective $5.3 billion in 2024, and this rose by as much as 0.8% compared to 2023.
DLCs made up 14% of the total revenue of the PC gaming industry in 2024.
How Have Pay-to-Play Games Fared?
It was also noted by the report that players opt to play and spend more on free-to-play games like the ones mentioned above rather than purchase the so-called "Premium" titles available in the market.
These pay-to-play games' revenue have dropped by 2.6% in 2024 and only earned $10.7 billion last year, which is way below half of what microtransactions earned.
That being said, it is still a massive revenue for paid games in the PC gaming industry and only shows that many players are still willing to buy said titles from developers, which is overall a notable performance.
Based on a previous study by Newzoo, according to GameRant, 67% of playtime are spent on titles that are already six years or older and are most likely what players spend their microtransactions on.
The likes of Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto Online" and Epic Games' "Fortnite" are among the titles that fall into these categories, with one of it being a free-to-play title.
