The most recent figures estimated by Statista point to an absolutely gargantuan market value of the video game industry. In its 2024 estimation of the worldwide gaming market, Statista approximates the industry to be working with circa $455 billion, with the mobile sector being more than 20% of this figure.
Given the immense number that goes around this industry, it’s easy to pinpoint the rise, progress, and upward projection to several factors that include a propensity for innovation. However, innovation is not the only way in which this industry shifts.
There are several kinds of developments that we can expect from the video game market, and not all of them are positive. The market is particularly fluid, with AAA companies trying to outdo each other while smaller companies try to sneak into the public eye and consolidate their brand names.
The advent of high-level technology may not operate with the same level of quantum leaps as in previous decades, but it still showcases progress with the use of AI assistance. More efficient product development, increased immersion, and more legroom for creativity may benefit from such vectors of video game tech.
As such, it’s only natural that we look at what we can expect from this industry by looking forward to the final year of this century’s first quarter: 2025!
The (Possible) Release of GTA VI
There is no more anticipated release than GTA VI (or 6, depending on how you choose to type it). It’s more than just a video game from a franchise that both casual gamers and enthusiasts have come to enjoy over the years. It’s become a cultural phenomenon that spawned its own meme with the ‘(unlikely event) before GTA 6.
After the magnetic launch of the game’s first trailer (following years of speculation, leaks, and anticipation) on December 4th, 2023, the ‘Fall 2025′ period became the most anticipated time of 2025. The trailer, featuring Tom Petty’s iconic ‘Love Is a Long Road,’ has amassed over almost 220 million views in less than a year.
However, there have been concerning signs that 2025 won’t be the year that we finally get the next instalment in one of entertainment’s most iconic franchises. Reports in the February-March period of 2024 indicated that production may be behind schedule, prompting an inevitable push to 2026. The lack of subsequent trailers is also relatively worrisome.
The good news is that Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar’s mother company), stated in a corporate press report that the next GTA title would be released according to the schedule, with Grand Theft Auto VI coming ‘in the fall.’
Shifting Game Publisher Practices Following Ubisoft’s Debacle
Some developments simply work like poetic justice in this gaming industry. Companies may feel like they dictate the market instead of the consumers, and there happen to be results that prove that consumers can show gaming studios that their choices can be catastrophic.
At the beginning of 2024, a slew of articles, Reddit threads, and YouTubers covered Philippe Tremblay, the Director of Subscriptions at Ubisoft, making the now-infamous statement that games should ‘get comfortable with not owning their games.’
Despite the context of his statements referencing the disappearance of other media ownership with the disappearance of DVD/Blu-ray from the mainstream eye, this turned into a disaster. Coupled with a delay in the launch of Shadows, the drama surrounding its historicity, and the weak sales of Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft’s shares started to drop massively.
Despite this concerning situation, things are only starting to get worse. Harking back to Tremblay’s words, Ubisoft is also getting sued by two Californian gamers. This is a very recent development that highlights the lack of ownership of video games. In short, Ubisoft’s 2014 hit The Crew, whose servers recently shut down, became unavailable for gameplay despite any initial purchase.
The Ubisoft case is anecdotal, and given the company’s status as an AAA developer with some of gaming’s most iconic franchises, it should prove to be a cautionary tale for other companies going forward, including 2025.
Further Integration of AR/VR May Be Coming
We’re looking toward new heights in both the hardware and software appendixes of the video game industries. The VR/AR technology bug has become the subject of a very intriguing discussion over the last few years, with people interested in the tech industry asking themselves if this technology has even become a household trend.
However, the signs look good. We return to Statista, whose VR statistics point to a rise of over $10 billion in market value between 2022 and 2025. This technology is thriving in points beyond traditional video games. Quite notably, medical research and procedures are using it, and even the gambling industry has taken an interest in it, aiming to turn its signature casino no deposit bonus into an almost palpable experience.
As such, the VR industry is basically using its services in other industries other than gaming. Playing video games is dynamic and requires incredible frame rates for a technology that is still finding its footing. However, with the advent of GPU progress, we can easily expect VR to be coming along in the video game industry as well since that was one of the initial targets.
Conclusion
To conclude, 2025 feels like a transitional year with a paradigm-shifting colossus of a game coming in its latter stages, a triple-A developer apparently crumbling before our eyes, and questions about the much-awaited breakthrough of a technological development that seemed dead a short while ago.