CHAPTER 3: Shaga’s Position in Today’s Market

Shaga’s Position in Today’s Market

From the Magnavox Odyssey to Atari, from Sega to the Nintendo Gameboy, and from the Playstation or XBox, to now the Switch and mobile games, people’s relationship with gaming has always proven to be significant. Gaming matters so much. It’s always in people’s hands.

This is reflected by PwC’s report that the global gaming industry will be worth $321 billion by 2026, exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdown where “millions of people picked up their controllers to escape the boredom and isolation”.¹ The growing popularity of gaming not only reflects its significant cultural and economic impact but also underscores its importance as a universal means of connection, entertainment, and escape for people worldwide.

Recent news also shared that the UK’s gaming industry shows no signs of slowing down any time soon with a staggering 11% growth in just two years,² and the World Economic Forum revealed that Africa’s gaming industry is emerging as the fastest-growing for mobile gaming.³

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The same can  be said for the Asian market as mobile gaming “has not only overshadowed PC and console gaming in the region but also captured the attention of developers and investors”⁴, underlined by the fact that 5 out of the Top 10 mobile gaming companies are based in countries like China, Japan, or Singapore. Shaga's model, which optimizes service placement and bandwidth allocation, is extremely well-positioned to capture a significant share of this ever-expanding market​​.

But where there’s growth, there’s also a rising demand for access. Research indicates the need for ease of accessibility and affordability (compared to traditional gaming setups), and thus a market for cloud gaming services is growing more than ever before.⁵ Projected to reach a substantial value of approximately $143.4 billion by 2032, the cloud gaming market is showing a remarkable growth from its 2023 value of $5.0 billion⁶ — and for good reason.

Cloud gaming, a new way of online gaming that renders data on the cloud side instead of the gamer’s system offers several benefits to both gamers and gaming companies:

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• It removes the expensive need for gaming hardware
• Allows users to access high-quality games on a variety of portable devices e.g. smartphones and tablets
• Multi-device compatibility
• Democratizes gaming by making it more inclusive and accessible to a broader audience
• Provides flexibility and affordability through subscription-based models

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This trend suggests a significant market opportunity for Shaga, which aims to provide an enhanced and consisent cloud gaming experience through reduced latency and improved quality of experience (QoE)​​ without compromising on game quality at all. Shaga's Gaming protocol aims to provide high-quality gaming through DePIN that challenges traditional cloud computing reliant on multiple geographically distributed centralized data centers, edge rendering, and artificial intelligence (AI)⁷ to satisfy market demands and break the boundaries of technological innovation.

The gig economy has also found its place within the gaming industry. As of 2023, there are 7 in 10 gamers who stream their content and approximately 51% of them make money from it. To be considered a successful streamer, a gamer must maintain an average of 3,277 regular viewers per month, stream 22 hours per week, and make an average of $29,172, annually. Looking the part also matters e.g. good equipment (computer/PC, chair, headphones, high-quality mic, good camera set up, etc.) and a fast internet connection is imperative.⁸

From professional gamers streaming their gameplay on platforms like Twitch to independent game developers funding their projects through platforms like Kickstarter, gaming has become a fertile ground for gig-style work arrangements. Shaga's innovative approach aligns with current creator economic trends in the gaming industry by leveraging idle gaming PCs worldwide. Shaga not only reduces infrastructure costs this way, but also provides a platform for gamers to earn passive income, addressing both the supply and demand sides of the gaming market by offering opportunities for gamers to monetize their skills.

The legal dispute between Google and Epic Games also considerably highlights the growing demand for open and non-extractive gaming platforms.⁹ Shaga's commitment to offering an open protocol for gamers and developers positions it favorably in a market that is increasingly resistant to closed ecosystems and monopolistic practices. With its decentralized network and focus on empowering gamers, Shaga is uniquely positioned to address the challenges and opportunities present in the creator economy of the gaming industry.

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¹  Read, Simon. 2022. “Gaming Is Booming and Is Expected to Keep Growing. This Chart Tells You All You Need to Know.” World Economic Forum. July 28, 2022.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/gaming-pandemic-lockdowns-pwc-growth/.

²  Newsdesk. 2024. “The Gaming Industry Continues to Grow in the UK.” South West Londoner. April 25, 2024.

https://www.swlondoner.co.uk/entertainment/25042024-the-gaming-industry-continues-to-grow-in-the-uk.

³  Hoffman, Lucy. 2024. “Fintech Can Unlock the Potential of the African Gaming Industry.” World Economic Forum. April 24, 2024.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/04/fintech-africa-mobile-gaming/

⁴  Zulhusni, Muhammad. 2023. “What the West Likely Doesn’t Know about Eastern Gaming in 2023.” TechHQ. October 25, 2023.

https://techhq.com/2023/10/in-2023-what-the-west-probably-doesnt-know-about-eastern-gaming/

⁵  Peñaherrera-Pulla, O. S. Baena, C. Fortes, S. Baena, E. and Barco, R. 2022. "KQI Assessment of VR Services: A Case Study on 360-Video Over 4G and 5G".

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=9833911

⁶  “Cloud Gaming Market Size, Share | CAGR of 46.9%.” n.d. Market.us.

https://market.us/report/cloud-gaming-market/

⁷  Kim, Youngjin, Yubin Choi, Young Choon Lee, Hyuck Han, and Sooyong Kang. 2022. “E-Render: Enabling UHD-Quality Cloud Gaming through Edge Rendering.” IEEE Access 10: 72107–19.

https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2022.3187696

⁸   Archive, View Author, and Get author RSS feed. 2023. “Study Finds Exactly How Much Average Streamers Made Last Year.” September 7, 2023.

https://nypost.com/2023/09/07/study-finds-exactly-how-much-average-streamers-made-last-year/

⁹  Robertson, Adi. 2023. “Epic v. Google: Everything We’re Learning Live in Fortnite Court.” The Verge. November 6, 2023.

https://www.theverge.com/23945184/epic-v-google-fortnite-play-store-antitrust-trial-updates