The value of the gaming industry has topped $300 billion following a pandemic-fueled surge, with some 2.7 billion players worldwide, a research report said Thursday.

The Accenture report said the gaming sector is worth more than the combined markets for movies and music, driven by gains in mobile gaming and an emphasis on making connections during a time of pandemic social distancing.

"The emergence of new gaming platforms and changing demographics are pushing gaming businesses away from being product-centric to becoming experience-oriented platforms," said Seth Schuler, managing director at Accenture's software and platforms industry group.

The study found the gaming industry has increased by half a billion players in the past three years, and predicts more than 400 million new gamers are expected by the end of 2023.

For the newest gamers, 60 percent are women, 30 percent are under 25 years old and one-third identify as non-white.

That contrasts with longtime gamers who were 61 percent male, and more than three-fourths white and over 25.

According to the survey, gamers are spending an average 16 hours a week playing, eight hours a week watching or participating in game streams and six hours a week interacting in game forums and communities.

Accenture's Robin Murdoch said the sector is evolving: "We're seeing the emergence of gaming as an ecosystem of superplatforms where players can meet, communicate, watch live-streamed concerts, shop or listen to music."

The research is based on data collected via an online survey with 4,000 consumers in China, Japan, the US, and Britain, and included interviews with industry executive.

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© 2021 AFP