A study anticipates the gaming VPN marketing size to reach $1441.6 million by 2032

Do you know that in just 2022 alone, cyberattacks among young gamers rose by 57%, according to Data Pacific Limited? Who would ever want to be part of such a statistic? You definitely do not want to part. It is no wonder why many gamers are turning to technologies like VPN to strengthen their online security as they participate. In this article, we will look at some of the reasons why Marketing Intelligence believes this sector will grow and future trends to look forward to.

In just August this year, Market Intelligence released a report suggesting that the gaming VPN market volume could hit $1441.6 million in 2032, growing at a CAGR of 12.20%. Have you been considering how a VPN might affect your gaming experience? Well, integrating an online VPN service that encrypts your internet traffic into your gameplay can help protect your data from hackers, ISPS and even government surveillance.

But be looking at why the gaming VPN market might grow, let’s first consider the popularity of online gaming

Why is online gaming growing in popularity?

As of 2024, the Academy of Animated Art put the percentage of gamers at 40% of the global population, accounting for about $183.9 billion. Of course, Asia Pacific tops the regions with the most number of players, with North America following closely.

Although the Asia-Pacific region has actually been taking the lead, other areas like the Middle East and Africa are really catching up. A report by the Independent revealed that these regions had exhibited the highest growth rate, about 11.3%. Will the tables change? Let us continue watching.

According to the Independent, mobile games dominated the sector with a gross revenue of about $89.9 billion. Console games followed with a revenue of $52.4 billion, while downloaded/boxed games and browser PC games accounted for $39.6 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively.

Popular mobile games like Subway Surfers are part of why the mobile gaming sector is taking the lead. Subway Surfers, for instance, has attracted over 214 million downloads since its release in 2012.

As the world becomes more interconnected and tech evolves, online gaming will definitely become even more popular. Nowadays, technologies like VR & AR have completely changed how we interact with games, unlike traditional games that involve interacting with computer-generated characters only.

As if that’s not enough, AI is even making the industry more appealing. With its power to personalize and deliver real-time analysis, AI is doing wonders in online gaming. It goes without saying that VPNs have also played a great role in the popularity of online games.

Why are gamers integrating virtual private networks?

Better performance

Do you ever experience lags while gaming, especially during tight moments of the game? No one wants such an experience. Worcester Polytechnic Institute actually found that a 2-second delay in load time alone can lead to an abandonment rate of about 87%. And, if the network was delayed by only 500 more milliseconds, players could leave the games. VPNs can help improve ping times and minimize lags as they offer a more direct route between the servers and your gaming device.

Plus, tech advancements have made sure that you can find VPNs with optimized servers tailored for gaming. With such servers, the connection between servers is even faster. Activities like gaming often consume exuberant amounts of data and may need higher bandwidths for exceptional experiences. And sometimes, some internet companies may not want to scale their services even after taking on more customers. This forces them to throttle data to regulate user connectivity during high-traffic moments.

The trouble with this is that it might lead to slower speeds and higher ping times—something you don’t want while playing. A reputable VPN can help you bypass such controls and ensure the ISP does not slow down your gaming data. With more gamers preferring smooth experiences, a considerable number might adopt this technology to enhance their experiences.

If your country of residence has a tough stance on some games that you love, you may consider incorporating VPNs into your strategy. Plus, some games are usually limited to particular regions during their early releases. Sandsoft, for instance, published the action RPG game Pocket Necromancer in select regions, including the US, Spain, Netherlands, etc. If you aren’t within these regions and want to access the games, you can now use VPN to immerse yourself.

Enhanced security

As you have seen in the introduction, online security has become a critical subject in modern gaming. With threat actors set to release about 11.5 attacks per minute, you want to always ensure that you are as safe as possible. Ever heard of DDoS attacks? They basically come to interrupt the normal traffic of website property.

In the gaming industry, there has been an increase of about 94% in attacks of this nature in just one year, Infosecurity Magazine reports. The gaming industry has continued to increase, with the global number of players going to highs of 3.09 billion active participants, attracting the attention of threat actors.

VPNs can come in handy when you to avoid such instances. As we said, this technology encrypts your online traffic and masks your real IP address. If hackers are unable to tell your address, it makes it almost impossible for them to launch an attack against you. To enhance your security even more, many VPNs have extra security features like anti-DDoS protection to help reduce the chances of cyber-attacks.

Do you do most of your gaming on public Wi-Fi networks? Then, consider using a VPN. Actually, a study highlighted that the information of about 40% of users was compromised as they were using public WiFi. These statistics are just a testament to the need to be watchful when using such facilities. The strong encryption protocols available in virtual private networks can help you secure your connection.

Final thoughts

Since gamers change their preferences, technology also evolves alongside, ensuring they find experiences that suit their needs. For instance, as online gaming became more popular, there were some players who wanted to access games that were not available in their residence.

Thanks to technology, virtual private networks made this possible. And now that this technology offers more benefits, such as enhanced security, it’s more likely that the gaming virtual private network industry will continue to grow, just like the Market Intelligence predicted.