In Q1 of 2021, gamers had downloaded roughly 1 billion titles every week.  Total Q1 consumer spending in the gaming sector hit $22 billion. Even as global economies began opening up, consumers have been faithfully gaming and purchasing in-app.

SIE president and CEO Jim Ryan sad “Our goal is to bring the Discord and PlayStation experiences closer together on console and mobile starting early next year...  allowing friends, groups, and communities to hang out, have fun, and communicate more easily while playing games together.”

With movie theatres shuttered, bowling alleys closed and sporting events canceled, or disallowing spectators, consumers looked elsewhere for personal entertainment.

While 2020 was a record breaking year for the industry, 2021 is well on its way to surpassing it. According to DDM’s Q1 Game Investment Review Report so far this year (Q1), the industry has seen investment totaling $18.7 billion, including IPO’s.  The report also details over $10.5 billion in mergers and acquisitions.

While the industry expected to see strong sales and revenue growth throughout the pandemic, the post-pandemic growth-rate into 2021 is showing just how robust industry really is.  In fact, growth in 2021 has not only surprised many, but is already on pace to eclipse that of 2020, with Q1 spending up 30%.

Readers of the report will be briefed on new products, new apps and specifications.  A deeper dive into the report shows which companies have strengths in the space, where weakness is occurring and potential upcoming opportunities for publishers, developers and investors.

And it’s no surprise why.  In 2020, mobile gaming generated over $77 billion in revenues and was one of the best performing industries of the year, globally.  This year, 2021, growth shows little signs of slowing down.

While not official, a curious job posting may offer some certainty. Sony is looking for a Head of Mobile, that will  “focus on successfully adapting PlayStation’s most popular franchises for mobile”. 

The company, backed by KKR & Co is now trading at a market capitalization of $21.3 billion.  Back in 2018, KKR took a $400 million stake in AppLovin with a then $2 Billion valuation. With AppLovin now public, KKR may have exceeded a 10X return on their investment in just a few short years.

One of the most important video game trade shows on earth is back!  E3 2021.  After the cancellation of last year’s event, due to the coronavirus, speculation on whether or not this year’s event would take place has finally been put to rest.