The DeanBeat: Predictions for gaming in 2021

This past year was one of the most unpredictable in all of human history. The pandemic threw off our ability to predict what will happen in the game industry. It surely messed up my predictions about where the games industry would go. Game companies had a record year in 2020, but I never would have predicted that in March as the world seemed headed into an unprecedented global recession caused by the coronavirus.

But people turned to gaming as a solace, and the whole industry not only survived. It prospered. Market researcher Newzoo is predicting that the entire game industry — PC, mobile, and console — will grow 19.6% to more than $174.9 billion in 2020. With two new consoles launched in November, the industry will likely grow again in 2021, helping gaming stand apart from the crowd. This year, we saw a huge surge in venture capital investments in game studios, and a big wave of acquisitions as well, with Microsoft buying ZeniMax Media (Bethesda) for $7.5 billion and Embracer Group announcing it had bought 12 game studios in one day. A continuation of this growth is the easiest prediction to make.