News: 0179997024

  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

Video Games' Hottest New Platform is an Old One (financialpost.com)

(Friday November 07, 2025 @05:25PM (msmash) from the back-to-basics dept.)


Web-based video games are experiencing an unexpected revival as the broader $189 billion industry stagnates. Sales for browser-based titles like GeoGuessr and chess were [1]expected to triple from 2021 to 2028 , reaching $3.09 billion, according to Google and Kantar. Playgama hosted more than 15,000 new web games in the first half of 2025, exceeding the combined total from 2021 through 2023.

Websites provide fast and easy access without console boot-ups or app downloads. Game creators sidestep the 30% revenue cuts imposed by Steam and Apple. Poki has doubled its employee count to 70 since 2020 and now serves 100 million monthly active users. A top-ten developer on the platform earns about $1 million in yearly revenue, up from $50,000 in 2020. Consoles cost more than $450, and smartphone gamers are downloading fewer apps. Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins predicted web games will be "one of the next waves."



[1] https://financialpost.com/technology/gaming/video-game-websites-return



Great, now they can port Steam to it (Score:2)

by Krishnoid ( 984597 )

I mean they've already got [1]a Linux kernel [phoronix.com] running in the browser, the rest should be easy to port over.

[1] https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Kernel-WebAssembly

Browser games (Score:2)

by RitchCraft ( 6454710 )

Over the past year I've found myself playing browser based games as well, something I didn't even consider before. As pointed out the convenience makes them attractive. I recently played an FPS in my browser that was quite fun and surprisingly detailed.

Re: (Score:2)

by Morromist ( 1207276 )

I know nothing about this world. What websites have the best browser games?

Last time I played browser games it was newgrounds.com a long long time go.

Re:Browser games (Score:4, Informative)

by RitchCraft ( 6454710 )

I just did a google search. Crazy games comes up first. I've played a few of these in the past. [1]https://www.crazygames.com/ [crazygames.com]

[1] https://www.crazygames.com/

Quick, convenient (Score:2)

by TJHook3r ( 4699685 )

There's a lot to be said about games that don't turn the computer fan into a jet engine!

Can I have an IMPULSE ITEM instead?