The video game industry has burst into the mainstream over the past decade. Video games were a popular entertainment medium in the 90s and 2000s, but interest was typically concentrated among a narrow demographic. That demographic, young males, has branched out significantly due to the hobby’s expansion and a medium that has grown more accessible.
A new report from GlobalData projects that the video game industry could grow to $300 billion by 2025. This is largely due to the growth of mobile gaming and offerings like cloud gaming. The video game market generated $131 billion in global revenues in 2018. Mobile gaming outpaced revenue made by PC and console gaming over this stretch, a stat that would be unthinkable a decade ago.
The Video Game ETF (NYSE:GAMR) is a recently-launched fund that provides the opportunity for investors to jump in on this fast-growing industry. Shares of the ETF have climbed 6.8% in 2019 as of mid-afternoon trading on September 30. The ETF burst onto the scene in 2017 and soared nearly 60% in its first three months of trading.
Some of the top holdings in the ETF include Square Enix Holding, a Japan-based video game company known for Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Kingdom Hearts role-playing games. Capcom is the second-largest holding, another Japanese developer that boasts games like Street Fighter, Mega Man, Resident Evil, and Devil May Cry.
I’m pulling the trigger on this ETF before the New Year as the video game industry looks destined for bigger things in the 2020s.
