Global Augmented Reality Gaming Market is estimated to value over USD 80 billion by 2026 end and register a CAGR of over 28.9% during the forecast period 2019 to 2026. 

Soaring adoption of AR equipment for conducting daily operations worldwide is the key factor contributing to the proliferation of the global augmented reality gaming market. The AR technology has changed the gaming sector as it offers near to reality gaming experience which has been a crucial factor responsible for the exponential augmented reality gaming market growth.  

After the staggering success of Pokémon GO, Niantic developed Harry Potter Wizards Unite- a location-based AR game based on the infamous Harry Potter universe. Niantic uses a Real World Platform, which is a ‘planet-scale real-world AR’ system. It consists of real-world data payers that can change the experience depending on the time and location of the player. For instance, werewolves are only visible in the game if the user is in a location having a full moon. Even the potions used in the game have ingredients analogous to the real world. Such gaming experiences shall increase the number of AR users thus expanding the augmented reality gaming market size. 

AR games will require a dedicated bandwidth in order to provide a seamless gaming experience. Moreover, it would require dedicated session management procedures to handle such high-end gaming. Furthermore, legacy gaming counterparts like Sony Corp’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 dominate the market currently and it will take a significant amount of time before AR gaming becomes the new norm. These factors can pose some major challenge to the global augmented reality gaming market. 

North America is projected to emerge as a dominating region in the global market. An increase in disposable income and consistent technological advancements has stimulated the market growth. Nonetheless, South Korea and China are lucrative regions for the market to thrive in the upcoming years.

Niantic has set a new benchmark in AR games sector with the huge success of ‘Pokémon GO’

Adventure games or geolocation games segment dominates the market and it is expected to continue this domination over the forecast period. Niantic set a standard when it comes to location-based AR games. Niantic and Nintendo collaborated to launch Pokémon Go- a location-based AR game that gained huge popularity. When the game was at its peak popularity, the number of daily users in the USA was around 29 million. According to the Guinness World Records, 'Pokémon Go' was the highest-grossing game ever in its first month with a collection of over USD 208 million. It grossed over USD 100 million in just 20 days of its launch. This game set a benchmark for AR mobile games thus getting AR into the mainstream gaming. 

Racing games, in general, are quite popular amongst gamers. But it is in the initial stages when it comes to augmented reality. With the advent of mobile games like 'CSR Racing 2' in which cars can be projected into the real world using phones running updated operating systems, the racing games segment shall gain significant market traction over the forecast period. Furthermore, 'CSR Racing 2' has an AR mode which can let the user simulate owning a high-performance car. Such advanced features offered by a mobile game shall increase the expanse of the racing game segment significantly.

Key Market Players:

· Apple

· Microsoft

· Sony

· Google

Apple has integrated AR technology 'ARKit' in its new iPhone and iPad line-up. Like for instance 'AR Robot', developed by PlaySide Studios, can help the user create tailor-made robots that can be trained and made ready to fight other robots. There are over 100 million combinations of robot customization with over 90 unique robot parts, a range of power cores available to boost the robot’s performance and over 60 paint colours.

Apple is currently working on the third instalment of ARKit, 'ARKit 3' and creating apps like Reality Composer for iOS and macOS to ease the augmented reality experience. Live linking can also help users to move between their iPhones, iPads and Macs. They are also working on Reality Composer, a high-level augmented reality framework with camera effects, photo-realistic rendering, physics and crisp animation. It will have a built-in AR library which can harness the power of content generation procedurally so that it becomes easy for the user to customize a virtual object’s style, size and other parameters.

Microsoft is working on the next iteration of HoloLens which will provide additional support to the Unreal game engine of Epic Games thus providing another tool for developers to create VR and AR content. 

Global Augmented Reality Gaming Market Segmentation:

By Component

· Software

· Hardware

By Technology

· RFID

· GPS

· Mobile Tracking

· Others

By Device

· Mobiles

· Head Mounted Devices (HMDs)

· Smart Glasses

By Game Type

· Racing Games

· Adventure Games

· Fighting Games

· Shooting Games

· Mystery Thriller Games

· Puzzle Games

· Science Fiction Games

· Others

By Region

· North America

· Europe

· Asia Pacific

· Middle East & Africa

· Latin America

FutureWise Key Takeaways:

· With games like 'Pokémon GO' and 'Harry Potter-Wizards United', the AR gaming on mobile devices shall rise exponentially creating numerous opportunities for game developers to develop interesting AR games considering how all the new-generation high-end mobile phones are integrated with the latest augmented reality frameworks.

· Microsoft collaborating with Epic Games for integrating Epic’s AR framework on Microsoft’s HoloLens shall increase the market growth significantly. Therefore, new AR games will not require hefty setups like the ones required for AR Quake. Even the HMDs will become redundant once these AR eye wears are available at an affordable price in the market.

Objectives of the Study:

· To provide with an exhaustive analysis on the global augmented reality gaming market by component, by technology, by device, by game type and by region

· To cater comprehensive information on factors impacting market growth (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and industry-specific restraints)

· To evaluate and forecast micro-markets and the overall market 

· To predict the market size, in key regions (along with countries)— North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America

· To record evaluate and competitive landscape mapping- product launches, technological advancements, mergers and expansions

· Profiling of companies to evaluate their market shares, strategies, financials and core competencies

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