Gaming hardware reached a major milestone five years ago, becoming a $100 billion dollar industry. While the COVID-19 lockdowns helped fuel this growth, the market revenue has surged by another 55% since then, reaching a projected $178 billion in 2025. A key driver of this double-digit increase is the rising cost of gaming hardware, with the trend expected to continue in the future.
According to data presented by Betideas.com, in 2025, consumers will spend an average of $1,835 on gaming hardware. This figure is projected to grow by another 25% and hit over $2,300 by the end of the decade.
Gaming Accessories Lead in Spending Growth, Set to Jump 50% with ARPU Reaching $3,241 by 2030
Over the past five years, gaming hardware sales have skyrocketed, fueled by the rise of esports, next-gen consoles, and an ever-growing PC gamer base. The surging demand for high-performance GPUs, gaming laptops, and accessories has pushed the market to record highs, but a key driver behind this growth is the rising cost of gaming hardware, and the five-year difference is shocking.
In 2020, the gaming hardware market generated $114 billion in revenue, with gamers spending an average of $1,261 on PCs, consoles, and accessories. Today, they spend $600 more on gaming gear on average, or $1,835, pushing market revenue to a projected $178 billion in 2025. Moreover, according to Statista Market Forecast, this figure will grow by another 25% and hit over $2,300 in 2030.
While most would expect gaming PCs and laptops to drive this spending growth due to the rising cost of GPUs, gaming accessories will see the biggest increase in spending. Despite GPU prices nearly doubling due to chip shortages, crypto mining demand, and supply chain issues, with some models selling for triple their MSRP, average spending on gaming PCs rose by only 5% in five years, going from $375 in 2020 to $393 in 2025. This figure is expected to grow by another 11%, reaching $437 by 2030. Gaming consoles will see an even smaller increase, with average spending rising only 5% to $535 by the end of the decade.
On the other hand, the average revenue per user in the gaming accessories segment will skyrocket. Five years ago, gamers spent an average of $1,337 on gaming accessories, including controllers, gaming mice and keyboards, headsets with microphones, high-refresh-rate monitors, ergonomic chairs, and VR equipment. Since then, this figure has surged by a massive 60%, reaching $2,150 this year. Even more striking, Statista expects gamers to spend 50% more on these items by 2030, over $3,200, marking a massive $1,000 increase in just five years.
Rising Costs and Consumer Spending to Drive Market Revenue Over $250 Billion by 2030
With gamers spending an average of $3,200 on gaming accessories, around $535 on consoles, and $437 on PCs, market revenue is set to skyrocket by the end of the decade. Statista estimates that the gaming PC segment will generate over $78 billion in revenue by 2030, or $16 billion more than this year.
Gaming consoles will see a much smaller increase, with annual revenue rising by $2.4 billion and reaching $27.1 billion over the next five years. However, the gaming accessories segment is a different story. Statista expects consumers worldwide to spend over $150 billion on accessories in 2030, nearly $60 billion more than this year, driving the gaming hardware industry to record highs. According to forecasts, the entire market is set to grow by roughly 45% and surpass a $250 billion value by 2030.