With their vibrant colors and expressive sounds, video games immediately captivate and feed the appetites of game players. Games are about business being both a form of art and entertainment. The dynamic landscape of the video game industry is crucial to recognize.

Video games are a multibillion-dollar industry. According to the 2015 Global Game Market report, researchers state that the video game market jumped from a value of $91.5 billion in 2015 to $107 billion in 2017. This is because thousands of companies develop and publish games in all 50 states. Both video and computer games are now affecting a broad range of businesses.

Games, game design and our instinct to play them are addicting forces that now drive the advancement of technology and business. Mobile devices and social networks have become a platform for playing video games. Advertisement and propaganda have in result turned games into a new mass medium.

Why are games such an essential aspect of modern-day economy and business? It is because videos games provide a means of entertainment. They cater to people’s appetite for fun and competition, offering incentives and motivations for improvement. According to The Statista Statistics Portal, over half of American households are consumers who have played video games. This creates mass consumption for the addicting products that consumers can’t help but continue to use.

Game designers are masters at stroking that appetite, providing just the right amount of entertainment to make their games deliberately addictive. With the use of psychological tricks, such as humor, action, storytelling, and a system of reward, it is similar to the addiction that lures gamblers. Some designers succeed, serving up jolts of pleasure that users can not stop to come back for more.

Video game companies utilize innovation and invention. The industry continues to grow, and as it does, more and more jobs will be available. The video game industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the U.S. economy. A study conducted by Economists Incorporated in 2014 stated that the interactive entertainment software industry has grown at an annual rate of nearly 10%. Over the same period, the entire U.S. economy only increased by 2.4%.

In addition to this, the interactive entertainment software industry’s growth has also provided economic and financial benefits to the individual. Jobs continue to grow in the foreseeable future. According to Salaries, the average salary for video game designers is over $129,700.

California, for example, is known to house the most significant number of video game personnel in the nation. Approximately more than 41 percent of total industry employment nationwide is from video games. California’s computer and video game industry grew at a real annual rate of 8.8 percent from 2009 to 2012. However, this is a reliable comparison to the state’s overall economy that experienced negative growth. Despite this, the industry is a highly competitive market.

Biology teacher Zachary Proffit was a videogamer himself, forming a Halo Club in his high school. Their success and skill led them to compete in significant video game tournaments, such as a tournament in Chicago in 2007 which was run by the Major League Gaming company. They placed 15th out of a couple of hundred teams, making extra cash from merely doing what they loved.

Just about everyone that has played video games as a kid has dreamed of one day making their games. But getting a job in this industry can be extremely difficult. To work in the industry, workers must have advanced training in skills like computer graphics, animation, software design, or programming, just to name a few. Companies must be on top of innovation, imagination, knowledge of the industry and continuously changing markets.

The video game industry creates a welcoming environment for entertainment software companies, creating jobs and adding value to each state’s economy.