2019-2024 Polish Game Market Revenue Forecast. Key number

A comparison of the forecasts prepared for the needs of the first edition of “The State of Polish Video Games Sector” with the actual results for 2015 and 2016 clearly demonstrated that the assumptions were correct, although conservative. Similarly, forecasts made in 2017 in “The State of Polish Video Games Sector 2017” by the authors from the Polish Gamers Observatory in relation to the revenues for 2019, which were estimated at the level of PLN 2.23 billion, i.e., USD 586 million corresponded to the results announced in 2020 by Newzoo in the amount of USD 596 million.

The present forecast was expanded by estimations until 2024. It was compiled on the basis of own calculations of gams developers based on the actual sale of console games and PC games in Poland, own analysis based on the annual financial statements of the most important companies from the gaming sector for 2019, interviews with the representatives of the key companies from the gaming sector, and additionally reports developed by PwC, SuperData Research and Newzoo. In the opinion of the report’s authors, forecasts reaching farther into the future are charged with an excessive error risk which results from the variability of the entire industry at a global scale, in particular in the context of consumer behaviours of new gamers, who began playing during the pandemic.

According to that data, the value of the Polish video game market amounted to over PLN 2.23 billion at the end of 2019. An increase to approximately PLN 2.49 billion (USD 656 million) is anticipated by 2020. If you look at those numbers in the context of global data, they are relatively low. In that scope, the revenues generated by Polish gamers constitute less than 0.38% of the entire market.

Source: Compiled by the Polish Gamers Observatory based on the games sales results for 2019, information from the key representatives of the sector, additional reports by Newzoo, SuperDataResearch, PwC.

The largest share in the total result for 2020 will be taken by mobile games, whose revenues exceed PLN 1 billion, i.e., an increase by 12% YoY. Personal computer games constitute the second segment from the point of view of revenues; including digital, box and browser versions with the result of over PLN 770 million. Browser games record a decrease by 13% because of being absorbed by mobile gaming. Console games add the amount of over PLN 620 million to the total result of the sector.

It is forecast that by 2024, the value of the Polish video games market, within the meaning of the amounts spent by the Polish consumers, should reach PLN 3 billion, i.e., USD 789 million with the current exchange rate.

Source: Compiled by the Polish Gamers Observatory based on the games sales results for 2019, information from the key representatives of the sector, additional reports by Newzoo, SuperDataResearch, PwC.

In order to avoid misunderstandings, it should be emphasised that the analysis covers only sales of games in digital and physical form to Polish users.