As Sony reportedly prepares to unveil its new Spartacus subscription gaming service, data shared by Ampere Analysis tells us that subscription video gaming is still very much on the fringe.
The Netflix of video games? Not now.
According to data from researcher Piers Harding-Rolls, subscription video game services account for only 4% of the revenue generated in the video game industry in North America and Europe. That's $3.7 billion, compared to more than $81 billion in physical, dematerialized game sales and accompanying microtransactions.
By comparison, streaming now accounts for 72% of the revenue generated by the movie industry, with $1.3 billion. So we're still a long way from the mark for Microsoft, which can nevertheless be satisfied with being (with a nice lead) the leader in this market. Ampere estimates that Game Pass accounts for more than 60% of the subscription video game market share, thanks to the more than 25 million subscribers at the last count.
To date, its biggest competitors are Apple Arcade (9% share) and Google Play Pass (7%). Until Sony finally decides to take the plunge? Answer, presumably, this week.
