PUBLISHER: The Business Research Company | PRODUCT CODE: 1968890
PUBLISHER: The Business Research Company | PRODUCT CODE: 1968890
Game streaming refers to the practice of live broadcasting gameplay over the internet, usually in real-time, enabling viewers to watch and engage with the streamer. It serves various purposes, including entertainment, sharing gaming experiences, community building, and providing educational content related to gaming.
The main types of game streaming solutions are web-based and app-based. Web-based game streaming enables users to play games directly through a web browser, utilizing cloud technology to stream from remote servers, thereby making high-quality gaming accessible on devices with lower processing power. Revenue models in game streaming include advertisement-based streaming, subscription-based streaming, and other models. Devices used for game streaming encompass smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, personal computers and laptops, smart televisions, and head-mounted displays. Game streaming is utilized by casual gamers, avid gamers, hard-core gamers, and professional lifestyle gamers alike.
Tariffs have influenced the game streaming market by increasing costs on imported gaming hardware, such as consoles, head-mounted displays, and high-performance PCs, thereby affecting market growth in regions reliant on imports like North America and Europe. Mobile and cloud gaming segments are less impacted, while console and PC-based streaming are most affected. Some positive effects include encouraging local manufacturing and innovation in gaming hardware to reduce dependency on imports, potentially boosting regional market resilience.
The games streaming market research report is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provides games streaming market statistics, including games streaming industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a games streaming market share, detailed games streaming market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the games streaming industry. This games streaming market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.
The games streaming market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $11.74 billion in 2025 to $13.37 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.8%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to growing popularity of video gaming, expansion of high-speed internet infrastructure, increasing adoption of smartphones and gaming consoles, rise of content creator economy, development of streaming platforms.
The games streaming market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $21.24 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increasing demand for cloud gaming, advancements in ai-driven personalized content, growth of virtual reality and ar integrations, rising eSports viewership, expansion of subscription-based monetization models. Major trends in the forecast period include rise of multiplayer and community-driven streaming, expansion of mobile and cross-platform game streaming, growth of interactive viewer engagement and gamification, increasing adoption of esports streaming, emergence of cloud-based gaming subscription services.
The growing popularity of esports tournaments is anticipated to drive the expansion of the game streaming market in the coming years. Esports tournaments are structured competitive events where professional or amateur players face off in a variety of video games, attracting audiences across the globe. The surge in popularity of esports tournaments is attributed to increasing global participation in competitive gaming and heightened fan engagement during major events. Game streaming facilitates esports tournaments by broadcasting competitions live to international audiences, boosting visibility, enhancing fan interaction, and broadening the reach of competitive gaming content. For example, in November 2024, the Greater London Authority (GLA), a UK-based government agency, approved an expenditure of up to $20,050 USD (£15,000) for 2024-25 to commission a report on esports in London. This funding is equally split, with $10,025 USD (£7,500) allocated from the Culture, Creative Industries, and 24-Hour London budget, and $10,025 USD (£7,500) coming from the Major Sports Events budget. Consequently, the rising popularity of esports tournaments is fueling the growth of the game streaming market.
Leading companies in the game streaming market are strategically integrating with smart TVs and platforms such as gaming hubs to create a cohesive gaming experience and community. Gaming hubs improve game streaming by facilitating easy connections between streamers and viewers, content sharing, and interactive engagement. In September 2023, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Blacknut launched the Free Game Pilot initiative on the Samsung Gaming Hub. This program allows users in the United States to access and play various games for free directly from compatible Samsung Smart TVs powered by Blacknut, without needing a sign-in or subscription. The initiative aims to enhance accessibility and user experience in game streaming.
In October 2023, Ubisoft Entertainment SA acquired cloud game streaming rights from Activision Blizzard, following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the subsequent approval from the CMA. This strategic move underscores the importance of cloud gaming and streaming services in the gaming industry's evolution and expansion.
Major companies operating in the games streaming market are Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Samsung Electronics Co Ltd., Microsoft Corporation, AT&T Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Amazon Web Services Inc., Sony Corporation, Intel Corporation, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), NVIDIA Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Nintendo Co Ltd., Electronic Arts Inc., Unity Technologies, Douyu Network Technology Co Ltd., Broadmedia Corporation, Genvid Holdings Inc., Sliver VR Technologies Inc., AfreecaTV Corp, Parsec Cloud Inc., Blacknut SAS, Tencent Cloud Computing (Beijing) Co Ltd.
North America was the largest region in the games streaming market in 2025. The regions covered in the games streaming market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.
The countries covered in the games streaming market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.
The games streaming market includes revenues earned by entities by providing services such as live broadcasting of gameplay, esports tournaments, subscription-based access to exclusive content, interactive viewer engagement, and content creation tools. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.
The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).
The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.
Games Streaming Market Global Report 2026 from The Business Research Company provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the market.
This report focuses games streaming market which is experiencing strong growth. The report gives a guide to the trends which will be shaping the market over the next ten years and beyond.
Where is the largest and fastest growing market for games streaming ? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward, including technological disruption, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer preferences? The games streaming market global report from the Business Research Company answers all these questions and many more.
The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, total addressable market (TAM), market attractiveness score (MAS), competitive landscape, market shares, company scoring matrix, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography.
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