In brief: Like so many markets, gaming PC shipments were down in 2023, falling 13.2% year-over-year to 44 million units. The overall PC industry also declined, but one bright spot was gaming monitors, which saw growth throughout the year. The good news for manufacturers and consumers is that 2024 is expected to be better.
Desktop and laptop workstation shipments fell 8.8% last year, according to IDC, representing the second-worst drop since the analyst's records began in 2008. Gartner, meanwhile, said that 2023 was the worst year in history for the overall PC industry, with shipments down 14.8% year-over-year.
IDC has looked at individual sections of the market in its latest report. While gaming PC shipments were down 13.2%, gaming monitors actually grew 20.3% during 2023. Delving deeper, shipments of Premium monitors with a refresh rate of 165Hz or higher were up around 13%, while Performance monitors (144Hz to <165Hz) were down 4%.
For 2024, IDC predicts that gaming PCs will finally start to see growth – imitating many other industries that suffered last year – though it will only be a modest 1%, with notebooks being the main driver. Gaming monitors, meanwhile, will continue on their upward trajectory, growing 13.6% across the year.
Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC's Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, said that even though the economy continues to struggle, shipments for gaming PCs have been a bit more resilient due to sustained demand. He notes that there's also been an upward trend in pricing as the premium segment of the market remains strong. Ubrani believes this area will remain healthy due to dedicated and affluent buyers who are less impacted by the economy.
Jay Chou, research manager for IDC's Worldwide Client Devices Trackers, says gaming monitor growth is outpacing gaming PCs thanks to the former's declining prices and widespread adoption of certain specs, including refresh rates over 165Hz, 1ms or less response times, and a move to 2560 x 1440 and higher resolutions.
Looking beyond this year, IDC believes gaming PC shipments will reach 52 million units in 2028 with monitors reaching 29.6 million during the same period. The firm forecasts that gaming monitor prices will fall each year as gaming PCs move in the opposite direction, with average selling prices reaching $1,101 due to the popularity of premium graphics cards and notebooks.
Finally, IDC writes that Premium GPU shipments will only grow 3% this year while Performance GPUs decline. Both will get a big boost in 2025 thanks to the Nvidia RTX 5000-series and AMD's Radeon RX 8000 cards.