Video games market tipped to hit $390bn by 2028 as consumers embrace crypto payments and online sales

This projected expansion underscores the ever-increasing popularity of video games as a form of entertainment across the world.

The global video games market is expected to increase to nearly $390bn by 2028.

Video games market

A recent study by Kaspersky shows that gamers are just as passionate about shopping as everybody else.    

Gamers are voracious shoppers at sales events, the study shows. Research shows that most games fans won’t miss a chance to improve their gaming setup during big sales events.

After preparing their wish lists beforehand, 78 per cent of gamers in the UAE buy as many of these listed items as possible during the sales events.

Many of them do their best not to miss out, with 52 per cent setting alerts for the release of new items such as games, upgrades, or equipment, enabling them to make immediate purchases.

The study underscores the importance of sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday for gaming enthusiasts, with 83 per cent rating these events as very or even extremely important to obtain games, upgrades, and equipment.

The appeal of sales often leads to spontaneous purchases. Regardless of the initial solution, 61 per cent of gamers buy something for their system.

To achieve their perfect setup, gamers are open to using diverse payment methods, including cryptocurrency.

65 per cent of gamers are comfortable using cryptocurrency for online purchases, and 62 per cent  for transactions in physical stores.

Among committed gamers (those playing over 21 hours per week), this preference for digital currency transactions jumps to two-thirds.

Marina Titova, Vice-President, Consumer Product Marketing at Kaspersky, said: “To ensure that people can do what they love without losing personal data or money, we are constantly improving our comprehensive security solutions”.

Kaspersky online shopping safety tips

• Type the URL into the address bar: Opening links from online store emails can have serious consequences for online security. Fraudsters may use phishing links that lead to fake websites that look similar to the original store website. On such sites, attackers may ask users to enter personal information or bank card numbers. So, whenever there is a need to open a web site of an online store, it is always better to type its URL into the address bar avoiding any links in emails.
• Use a temporary credit card: Some banks provide their clients with the opportunity by issuing temporary credit cards. A tool like this will help you take advantage of the winter sales without fear of further data loss. Sometimes banks also offer what is known as a virtual credit card. This is similar to a regular card, but a random account number is generated for each purchase, preventing hackers from reusing the number.
• Manage and protect your online passwords: It is well known that to cybersecurity requires customers to have a unique and strong password for each of their accounts. But it is also obvious that coming up with and remembering dozens of complex passwords is a very difficult task. Therefore, to ensure the security of online shopping, password handling can be entrusted to a reliable password manager.