News & Analysis

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Gaming continued leveling up in 2022 

Video games are everywhere—from musicians performing concerts inside Fortnite arenas, to esports championships broadcast on ESPN. In 2020 alone, game sales were nearly triple the revenue generated by all major US sports, digital music sales, and cinema box office sales combined. As a result, digital entertainment has seen massive growth over the past four years—and gained the attention of many investors. 

Despite some drops in deal activity and value, 2022 proved to be a robust year for venture investment in gaming, according to our inaugural Emerging Tech Research on the space. 

Key takeaways include: 

• While 2022 saw the industry’s first contraction for global VC deals in five years—down to $13.3 billion from $16.6 billion in 2021—totals remain historically high, with 2022’s total deal value nearly quadruple 2019's level. 

• Exit value totaled $2.5 billion in 2022, down from $30.5 billion in 2020 due to a difficult regulatory climate following Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, the maker of the Call of Duty and Candy Crush franchises. 

• The industry market size is projected to grow from an estimated $447.3 billion to $562.3 billion in 2026. Within the gaming vertical, the development segment is projected to grow to a market size of $33.9 billion in 2026.