According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Serious Games Market by Gaming Platform, Application, Industry Vertical and Region: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030,” The serious games market was valued at $5.94 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $32.72 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 18.47%.

The market is impacted by factors such as increase in need for better user engagement platforms across enterprises, surge in usage of mobile-based educational games, and significant adoption of virtual reality in training & development activities. However, lack of awareness about the advantages & usage of serious game, and unsuitable game design are anticipated to hamper the serious games market size.

On the basis of gaming platform, the smartphone segment dominated the serious games market in 2020, and is expected to continue this trend during the forecast period. With the rapid rise in mobile gaming in the past five years, smartphones are anticipated to gain market traction in the coming years. One of the perks of this gaming platform is its cost-effectiveness.

According to the application, the simulation and training segment dominated the serious games market in 2020, and is expected to maintain its dominance in the upcoming years. This is attributed to ongoing trend of game-based learning among organizations to achieve impressive performance results from employees. Serious games are being used in a variety of simulation and training use cases, such as corporate education, emergency services training, and health care among other purposes. However, the research and planning segment is expected to witness highest growth rate during the serious games market forecast period.

In 2020, on the basis of industry vertical, the education segment dominated the global serious games market growth, and is expected to maintain its dominance in the upcoming years. Serious games help in gaining extended retention, efficient memorization, can be customized, create huge volume of information, offer interactive & attractive interaction with individuals, and save time & costs. In addition, they help in understanding cultural heritage with an interactive session that is expected to attract students’ attention. Other factors positively affecting the adoption of serious games in the education industry include rise in usage of inexpensive & ubiquitous hardware, availability of robust networks that enable easy connectivity, adoption of brain science software, and pressure on educational institutes to enhance the skills of students

Post COVID-19, the market was valued at $5.94 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $32.72 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 18.47%. The current estimation of 2030 is projected to be higher than pre-COVID-19 estimates. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of schools all around the world. Over 1.2 billion youngsters are out of school worldwide. As a result, education has undergone significant transformations, with the rise of e-learning, in which instruction is done remotely and via digital platforms.

Unfortunately, this has decreased kids' enthusiasm for learning. To overcome this issue, e-learning systems have incorporated serious games into their platforms to make learning more engaging. According to BYJU'S, an Indian e-learning platform, creative integration of games exhibited higher engagement and enhanced enthusiasm toward learning, especially among younger students, over time. As a result, people have become more aware of the market under investigation. Furthermore, on March 30, 2020, during the current public health crisis caused by COVID-19, the International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) supported the use of virtual simulation as a replacement for clinical hours for students currently enrolled in health sciences professions (i.e., nursing students, medical students).

Key Findings of the Study

• On the basis of gaming platform, in 2020 the smartphone segment dominated the serious games market size.
• Depending on application, the simulation and training segment generated the highest revenue in 2020 of serious games market share. However, the research and planning segment is expected to exhibit significant growth during the forecast period.
• On the basis of the industry vertical segment, the education segment generated the highest revenue in 2020. However, the government segment is expected to exhibit significant growth during the forecast period
• On the basis of region, the serious games industry was dominated by Asia-Pacific region in 2020. However, LAMEA is expected to witness significant growth in the upcoming years.

Some of the key serious games industry players profiled in the report include BreakAway, Ltd., Designing Digitally, Inc., DIGINEXT, IBM Corporation, Cisco Systems Inc., Virtual Heroes, Inc., Nintendo Co., Ltd., Promotion Software GmbH, Revelian, and Tata Interactive Systems. This study includes market share, trends, serious games market analysis, and future estimations to determine the imminent investment pockets.