Finance in the Gaming Industry

According to Microsoft, there are around 2 billion players in the world, all platforms taken into account. The industry has grown rapidly from $55.8 Bn in 2012 up to an impressive $152.1Bn in 2019, a CAGR of 15,4%! Consumer spending on games is expected to grow to $196 Bn by 2022 🤯

The gaming industry reaches a point at which even adjacent markets suffer from this growth. Indeed, Netflix thinks ‘Fortnite” is a bigger threat than a direct competitor like HBO. The video games industry is silently taking over the entertainment world.

As an order of magnitude, in 2018 the global box office industry was worth US$41.7 bn while global music revenues reached US$19.1 bn. Can you spot the difference?

“When I think about the bank of the future, I often think about my sons and how they play Fortnite with their friends”

- Derek White former Global Head of Client Solutions

Investors are obviously on the rise in this sector. So are the acquisitions! GAFAM and BATX are extremely active on the following sub-markets: cloud gaming, live streaming, game-editors, 5G for gaming, AI & content generation,...This business diversification is so notable as it is currently helping Tencent resisting to the COVID-19. Wait, really??

For instance, let’s take Fornite. With over 250m users and a revenue of $2.4b in 2018, the game just set a benchmark in how to attract, engage and monetize a free to play offering which is built around the needs and habits of a mainly millennial target group. For the banks, those are potential future customers. This is why it is financially importa... See more