Ampere: in 2023, console video game players will spend $21B on in-game items and subscriptions, as “live service games” make the market more akin to mobile
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times : X: @eleanorolcott X: Eleanor Olcott / @eleanorolcott : Always amazes me how many gamers spend more money dressing their avatar than themselves. Interesting piece from @tim on how console makers are adapting to evolving gamer preference for free-to-play games with $ spent on skins and weapons. https://www.ft.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
This forecast extends a spending pattern already visible across games: Data.ai and IDC had estimated that mobile would account for more than 61% of global game spending in 2022. It matters because the same recurring-purchase mechanics are being projected onto console audiences.
The broader spending split remained mobile-led in a later 2023 estimate, with $108B in mobile game spending versus $43B on consoles. Ampere's console forecast therefore highlights monetization mix, not simply platform scale.
First-order effects
- Console publishers and platform holders have a stronger immediate incentive to support games with ongoing item sales and subscriptions rather than rely solely on the initial purchase.
- Players in live-service console games become the direct target for more optional cosmetic, weapon, and subscription offers over a game's lifetime.
Second-order effects
- Studios competing for console players will face pressure to build retention, update, and commerce capabilities alongside traditional game development.
- The comparison with mobile raises the value of cross-platform audiences and account systems, since recurring purchases work best when players can remain engaged across devices.
Third-order effects
- If this mix persists, console economics could move further from a hit-driven retail model toward a portfolio of long-running services and recurring customer relationships.
- That shift may widen the gap between publishers able to fund continuous operations and those built around self-contained releases, though strong spending on services does not by itself determine which model produces the best games.
The trend: Console gaming is adopting mobile-style recurring monetization as publishers seek to turn player engagement into durable service revenue.