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Mobile gaming generated the most revenue in the 2022 comparison behind this headline: $101 billion, versus $45 billion for PC and $30 billion for console. But the claim that PC was ahead of console is tied to that particular historical dataset—not a timeless ranking. In Newzoo’s 2023 figures, console revenue was higher than PC revenue.
Which gaming platform makes the most revenue?
In Visual Capitalist’s 2022 chart, mobile ranked first at $101 billion. PC brought in $45 billion and console $30 billion. Visual Capitalist attributes the figures to UK-based market intelligence firm Pelham Smithers and rounds them to the nearest billion. The chart presents its historical revenue series in inflation-adjusted terms. Visual Capitalist’s platform revenue comparison also puts total video-game-industry revenue above $180 billion in 2022 and says mobile had accounted for more than half of industry revenue since 2019.
| Platform | 2022 revenue | 2022 ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | $101 billion | 1 |
| PC | $45 billion | 2 |
| Console | $30 billion | 3 |
These are the chart’s rounded, inflation-adjusted estimates attributed to Pelham Smithers, not a universal accounting of every kind of gaming-related business. They describe game revenue, not the value of hardware sales.
Does PC gaming make more money than console gaming?
It did in the 2022 comparison above, but not in every subsequent dataset. A January 2024 excerpt from Newzoo’s PC and Console Gaming Report puts 2023 PC game revenue at $40.4 billion and console game revenue at $53.1 billion. Newzoo reported PC growth of 3.9% year over year and console growth of 1.7% in that report. The Visual Capitalist-hosted Newzoo excerpt therefore shows console ahead of PC for 2023.
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Those 2022 and 2023 figures should not be used to calculate a precise year-over-year change: they come from different providers and stated scopes. Newzoo’s PC and console measure includes physical and digital full-game purchases, in-game spending, and subscriptions such as Xbox Game Pass. It excludes taxes, resale and other secondary-market spending, advertising, console and peripheral hardware, B2B services, and online gambling or betting. Newzoo separately notes that its mobile revenue excludes advertising. The available descriptions do not establish that the 2022 chart uses the same category definitions.
What do the 2026 figures say?
A Wccftech report published August 25, 2026, describing Newzoo’s 2026 forecast, estimates $121.1 billion for mobile, $46.9 billion for console, and $45.9 billion for PC. These are forecasts—not final 2026 results—and are reported by Wccftech rather than directly in the cited Newzoo excerpt. Wccftech’s report on the Newzoo forecast again places mobile well ahead, while its estimated console total is slightly above PC’s.
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Across these cited comparisons, mobile is the consistent leader. The PC-versus-console order changes with the year and dataset: PC is higher in the 2022 Pelham Smithers comparison, while console is higher in Newzoo’s 2023 figures and its reported 2026 forecast.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why revenue rankings need context
A platform revenue figure can mean different things depending on the categories counted. Game purchases, in-game transactions, and subscriptions are included in Newzoo’s 2023 PC and console measure, while hardware and advertising are excluded. Mobile advertising is also excluded from that measure. A ranking that counts different revenue streams—or treats inflation differently—may produce a different comparison.
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Monetization helps explain what the totals capture, but the available figures do not prove why one platform ranks above another. In-game purchases and subscriptions are part of the market context discussed in coverage of the comparison; they do not establish that either model caused a platform’s ranking. Nor do these numbers show that mobile gaming is taking revenue away from PC or console.
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