Newzoo’s PC & Console Gaming Reports (and other studies)—currently 2025' Report

[BelgarathMTH]

My takeaway: For all that gamers complain about microtransactions in gaming, the only way that model will change is if gamers stop buying them. According to the report, microtransactions provide almost half of a game development company's revenue, so microtransactions aren't ever going away unless consumer behavior changes radically.

 

[Antimatter]

I agree, 100%. Before ESO, I never tried microtransactions as I mostly play single-player games.

With ESO, I spent 1-2 years on ESO+ (subscription), plus occasional crown purchases (currency to buy in-game items, mostly cosmetics). I felt how that accumulated. And that was still relatively modest (from the investment standpoint).

What I hear from some people playing games like Genshin Impact is very different, though. People can easily invest hundreds & hundreds of USD every month for a skin, a character, or something similar.

These days, I buy only games I'm convinced in at full price, such as Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, or Eriksholm in 2025. For other games, I try to wait for a sale, preferably with an all-time low discount.

 

[mlnevese]

I would never pay for a skin, and when I hit a paywall in any game, I uninstall it. Sometimes, mobile games let you play with ads or offer the option to pay to remove them, which I think is fair. Otherwise, I’ll only pay for DLC that adds to the story or game world, like the recent Against the Storm DLC, which introduced a new race and many other features.

 

[Antimatter]

Another side to this report, and that's from the industry inside perspective: if the average money spent on games per year is 325 USD in US and 125 USD in EU, and ~a half of that is being spent on MTX, then imagine how hard it is to sell your game if it's not a well-known or viral hit. With today's prices on AAA games in the region of 60-90 USD, there is not a lot of space left for smaller games. And that's a real problem, especially since new games arrive each month.