Serious Games Global Market Report 2024

The serious games market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $9.71 billion in 2023 to $11.67 billion in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3%. The expansion during the historical period can be attributed to educational initiatives, healthcare training, corporate training, and skill development, as well as military and defense applications, and efforts to enhance employee engagement and productivity.

The serious games market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $25.74 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.9%. The anticipated growth in the forecast period can be attributed to personalized learning solutions, healthcare patient care, diversity and inclusion training, the global expansion of e-learning, and the rise of gamified assessments. Key trends expected in the forecast period involve integration with artificial intelligence (AI), advancements in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), increased access to technology, gamification in corporate training, and cross-platform accessibility.

The growth of the serious games market is anticipated to be driven by the adoption of virtual reality in training and development activities. Virtual reality creates an artificial world through software, immersing users to the extent that they accept it as real. This technology offers a learning environment where individuals can experiment with new skills, safely fail, learn from mistakes, and progress professionally. A study by the Korea World Bank Partnerships Facility in April 2021 demonstrated that VR training can be as effective, if not more, than traditional training in enhancing student learning outcomes. Students who underwent VR training reported a 20% improvement in confidence and self-efficacy after completing their courses. Therefore, the incorporation of virtual reality in training and development activities is expected to fuel the growth of the serious games market.

The growth of the serious games market is anticipated to be fueled by the increasing demand in the aerospace industry. The aerospace industry encompasses the collaborative efforts, development, production, and maintenance of aircraft and spacecraft. Serious games offer a realistic and immersive training environment, enabling aerospace professionals to simulate scenarios closely resembling real-world situations. This enhances the learning experience, provides hands-on training, facilitates safety training, reduces training time, supports cross-functional training, and creates customized training scenarios tailored to specific skills, procedures, or challenges relevant to their roles. For example, in August 2023, Cadrex reported that the aerospace industry revenue was $741 billion in 2022, marking a 3% increase from 2021. Hence, the growing demand in the aerospace sector is a key driver for the serious games market.

The significant trend in the serious games market is the emergence of advanced technological infrastructure. Leading players in this sector are introducing innovations to games by incorporating technologies such as cloud computing, virtual reality, and the metaverse. The metaverse creates a virtual world where users can interact within a computer-generated environment, offering real-time experiences and enhancing game interactivity. A notable example is Amazon's AWS Cloud Quest, a role-playing game introduced in March 2022. This online game simplifies users' learning of cloud computing techniques, allowing cloud practitioners to design avatars and navigate a virtual city to solve cloud-related technological problems, earning character styles, companions, and virtual goods.

The prominent companies in the serious games market are forging partnerships to enhance their market positions and develop innovative products. Collaborations in this sector aim to foster innovation, leverage complementary expertise, and expedite the advancement of advanced therapies. A notable example is the April 2023 partnership between HAVELSAN A.Ş., a Turkey-based defense and information technology company, and Epic Games, Inc., a US-based video game and software development company. This collaboration utilizes Epic Games' Unreal Engine capabilities, resulting in the creation of "malazgirt," a first-person shooter game developed for the malazgirt Serious Game Infrastructure Project, emphasizing HAVELSAN's focus on serious games for the defense sector.

In October 2021, Wicket Gaming AB, a mobile game developer based in Sweden, entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Wegesrand Group for $4.1 million. This acquisition is expected to broaden Wicket Gaming's media and edtech offerings, enhancing the diversity of its product line. The inclusion of Wegesrand Group, a game development company in Germany, brings valuable knowledge transfer to Wicket Gaming.

Major companies operating in the serious games market report are IBM Corporation, Cisco Systems Inc., Nintendo Co. Ltd., Grendel Games, Tygron BV, MPS Interactive Systems Ltd., Applied Research Associates Inc., Hourblast Games, Cole Engineering Services Inc., Diginext, Alelo TLT LLC, Tata Interactive Systems, Promotion Software GmbH, Next Games Ltd., In-Depth Engineering Corporation, iCivics Inc., Filament Games LLC, Can Studios Ltd., BreakAway Games Ltd., Chaos Theory Games, Learning Nexus Ltd., Akili Interactive Labs, Designing Digitally Inc., Triseum LLC, DFUSION Inc., Revelian Pty Ltd., Open Mind Innovation, Deus Marmota, L.I.B. Businessgames BV, CCS Digital Education Ltd., Vcom3D Inc.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the serious games market in 2023. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the serious games market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the serious games market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The primary platforms for serious games encompass smartphones, consoles, PCs, and other platforms. The smartphone segment involves the sales of serious games specifically designed for smartphones, which are mobile devices incorporating built-in computers, operating systems, web browsing, and the capacity to run software programs. Serious games find applications in simulation and training, research and planning, advertising and marketing, human resources, and other domains. End users of serious games span education, healthcare, aerospace and defense, government, retail, media and entertainment, and various other verticals.

The serious games market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides serious games market statistics, including serious games industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a serious games market share, detailed serious games market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the serious games industry. The serious games 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 serious games market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing cognitive training and physical rehabilitation. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

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.