There has been a surge in video gaming stocks since 2025, largely fueled by the next anticipated releases such as Grand Theft Auto 6.
Besides this, there will be the highly anticipated launch of a Nintendo Switch 2, which excited investors even more.
This year so far, the Global X Video Games & Esports ETF has shown a performance far beyond that of the S&P 500.
The Global X Video Games & Esports ETF has gained 12% in the year, which is about four times the 3% return from the S&P 500 in the same period.
Among the heaviest gainers were Nintendo shares, listed in the US: the stock was up 23% year to date, heavily buoyed by the recent announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2, the next-gen console, before the holidays.
Given that the current console has almost reached the eighth-year mark in March, consumer demand will be so great that Nintendo has admitted it may not be able to keep up.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said that the company is «taking risks and proceeding with production to meet as much demand as possible,» from a paraphrase of last week's earnings call.
According to JPMorgan analysts, the Switch-sustained backward compatibility of the Nintendo Switch 2 would see the company register a significantly higher number of software sold compared to what is recorded by the original Switch console.
According to figures from JPMorgan, Nintendo will see sales of 190 million software units for its fiscal year 2025 but will balloon to 272 million by fiscal year 2029.
«We expect software sales volume to increase with the support of 1) partial forward compatibility for selected titles and 2) backward compatibility,» JPMorgan said in a report released last month.
Last week, the company also confirmed that it is on track to release the much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 later this Fall, which contributed to the 16%-advance capitalization of Take-Two Interactive to record highs this year.
Expectations among analysts are high, given that its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto 5, ranks third best-selling video game of all time, with 210 million copies sold, next only to Minecraft and Tetris, according to Gamespot data.
Like the Nintendo Switch, the last installment of Grand Theft Auto was released about 12 years ago, so a lot of pent-up demand is expected for this title. Analysts at Ned Davis Research predict sales of 250 million lifetime units.
Another stock worth noting that has shot up this year is China-based software developer NetEase, known for producing its popular Marvel Rivals game, where users can engage in team-based combat with over 30 different Marvel characters.
In NDR analyst's opinion, the political trend for the game sector was more or less expected. Indeed, the research company had already counseled investors to buy video game stocks late last year, partly because it predicted explosive demand for the Nintendo Switch 2 and the «800-pound gorilla" that is Grand Theft Auto 6.
«New titles for 2025, especially Grand Theft Auto VI, together with the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, will certainly seal a bottom in sales growth for the industry,» advised NDR in December.
One should not forget to mention that video games also outperform all other types of media.
While gaming firms recover from an industry-wide downturn to face the future, companies from film industry find themselves still grappling with adversity.
Increased stock prices in Warner Bros Discovery, Disney, and Paramount Global have not generated much market activity this year. Warner Bros Discovery and Disney have succumbed to the 5% and 2%, respectively, while Paramount has earned a little above 1%.