The Market Opportunity

Gaming is well understood to be the largest entertainment category globally. Across all categories of global spending, gaming constitutes a $317 billion industry. This sizing includes several key segments outside of gaming content and virtual goods purchases: other forms of content and IP sales, sales of any gaming hardware and equipment (including consoles) as well as gaming software such as streaming services (e.g., Twitch), gamer communication (e.g., Discord), game engines (e.g., Unity), and other items.[1]

For details on market sizing, PLAY investor BITKRAFT esports Ventures research findings: source. The marketplace charts that follow courtesy of BITKRAFT eSports Ventures.

Market categories, from hardware sales to in-game sales, include:

Several categories are germane to Web 3 economics, ripe for disruption:

Category	2021 Spend
Mobile Gaming Content	$80bn
PC & Console Gaming Content	$83bn
Grey Market Game Sales	$12bn
Blockchain Gaming	$1.5bn
Total	$176.5bn

Blockchain gaming, a category that is “only” $1.5bn is growing exponentially, at an estimated 100% CAGR. The potential market in 2025 for blockchain could reach $50bn.

“Traditional Platforms”: Mobile/PC/Console in-game purchasing.

However, this blockchain gaming growth estimate could be an understatement. As noted by BITKRAFT in their market research:

“First, it is important to recognize that blockchain gaming is still in its relative infancy. According to DappRadar, there are just over 1,000 games on public blockchains compared to the tens of thousands seen in the early days of Apple’s App Store. As more games are introduced and adoption barriers are lowered for users, the blockchain game market has the potential to grow meaningfully. On the other hand, there is always a possibility that blockchain gaming may enter the “Trough of Disillusionment” phase of the Gartner Hype Cycle, failing to gain traction among gamers and resulting in a pullback of revenues.”