For years, most observers have been predicting an explosion in the video game business. Increasingly high development costs are matched by an ever-growing user base. But it’s worth remembering that, until recently, the PC’s future in this monstrous market was in doubt. Consoles and even streaming seemed to be the only options for the future (we’ll consider smartphone games as a separate category). But things are turning around. The PC, paradise for pirates and those who never pay for their games, has converted to platforms. Ports are multiplying. Sony is the perfect example, having for years proclaimed that only the Playstation was legitimate for gamers. Distributing a title as widely as possible to make it profitable has become the primary objective of publishers. The PC gaming market can no longer be ignored.
PC gaming: a future market for publishers?
In 2023, sales generated by PC games rose by 8.4%. At the same time, console sales stagnated (0.3%), while smartphone sales fell by 2.1%. While the PC is not yet on a par with the console, it nevertheless generated $39.6 billion in downloaded and purchased PC games, corresponding to 22% of the total market. It’s almost anecdotal to note that PC browser games were down 16.9% year-on-year, still bringing in $1.9 billion.
Can Microsoft totally transform Xbox into a PC?
If we take a step back and look at the massive acquisitions made by Microsoft in recent months, the gaming market will undoubtedly undergo profound upheaval over the next few years. First of all, what about the future of the Xbox, at a time when the studios are generating substantial sales for Microsoft? A new version has been announced for 2026, but honestly, what’s the point?
The announcement of the new Surfaces and Microsoft’s return to the hardware specifications of its machines still leaves us with a few questions. At a time when the company’s gaming cash machine is overwhelmingly fed by studios, what’s the point of maintaining a platform that is struggling to establish itself, whose hardware is that of a PC, but which requires specific development?
The emerging success of portable PC consoles must not have escaped Microsoft’s attention. Even if 2024 looks set to be a tense year everywhere, it’s not unrealistic to bet on a PC triumph in the next few years. This is no longer a phantasm or a delusion, it’s increasingly objective reasoning.
