How Big Is the Serious Games Market? 2007 PwC Estimates
In June 2007 an analyst estimated the US serious games market at $200 to $400 million a year, using PwC's updated video game forecasts as the base. PwC still publishes its entertainment and media outlook, now as a combined telecom and media report covering 2026 to 2030.
Updated
The PwC figures behind the estimate
PwC's entertainment and media outlook for 2006 gave the first rough yardstick for a market that had no category of its own: serious games, meaning games for training, education and health. The June 2007 update projected that worldwide video game spending would reach $48.9 billion by 2011, a compound annual growth rate of 9.1 percent over five years. PwC put growth for the whole entertainment economy at 6.4 percent over the same period.
The data counted consumer spending on games and left out hardware and accessories. PwC named online and wireless games, new-generation consoles and in-game advertising as the main growth engines. The analyst added a personal note that piracy hides part of the real market and that the worldwide figure could reach $58 billion by 2011.
Video game forecasts in the 2007 update
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Worldwide spending 2006 | $31.6 billion, up 14.3% |
| Worldwide spending 2007 (preliminary) | $37.5 billion, up 18.5% |
| US market 2006 (preliminary) | $9 billion, up 10.6% |
| US market 2007 (expected) | About $10.4 billion |
| US market 2011 | $12.5 billion, 6.7% annual growth from 2007 |
| US online games | $1.1 billion in 2006 to $2.7 billion in 2011 |
| US wireless games | $499 million to $1 billion |
| US in-game advertising | $80 million in 2006 to $950 million in 2011 |
Source: PwC outlook figures for 2006 and 2007.
The serious games estimate
On top of the PwC base the analyst gave a conservative figure of $200 to $400 million a year for the US serious games market in 2007. Corporate buyers were starting to commission games, which could add $400 to $600 million a year. Healthcare providers, for example for surgery training, emergency medical response and surgical team management, pointed the same way. Together these added up to close to $1.5 billion for the market in 2008.
The same analysis listed who had joined the military as a customer: other government agencies, healthcare providers, K-12 schools and universities, and Fortune 500 companies using games for team building, leadership, sales and product training. These were estimates built from a few assumptions, not audited sales.
The analysis also leaned on a view of the audience. Games were becoming an important part of culture, and casual games were pulling in a gaming audience that was somewhat more female and older than before. PwC expected the US games market to top the music sector in 2008, a comparison that made a separate serious games segment easier to imagine.
What is true today
PwC's outlook still exists, but the 2007 edition and its title have changed. The current page is called "Global Telecom and Entertainment & Media Outlook 2026–2030" and describes five-year projections of consumer and advertiser spending for the telecom and entertainment and media industries. The figures on that page for video games were not retrieved for this review, so no current games number is given here.
No source opened for this review gives a measured size of the serious games segment today. The $1.5 billion figure for 2008 remains a 2007 projection, not a result.
Questions about serious games market size
How big was the serious games market in 2007?
An analyst estimated $200 to $400 million a year in the US in 2007, with corporate and healthcare commissions possibly adding more.
Does PwC still publish the entertainment and media outlook?
Yes. In November 2026 PwC's page was titled Global Telecom and Entertainment & Media Outlook 2026 to 2030, with five-year projections for both industries.
What did PwC forecast for video games in 2011?
In the 2007 update PwC projected $48.9 billion in worldwide game spending by 2011 and $12.5 billion in the United States.