Best Gaming Stocks in 2025
The video game industry is soaring to new heights – more than double the size of the music and movie industries combined. By 2025, an estimated 2.86 billion people will be playing video games worldwide, fueling a booming market for game creators, hardware makers, and tech platforms. For beginner investors looking to ride this wave, gaming stocks offer an exciting blend of growth and innovation. Below we’ve compiled a list of some of the best U.S.-based gaming-related stocks to watch in 2025, spanning game publishers, hardware providers, and platforms. We’ll break down each company with key takeaways and an in-depth, accessible look at why it stands out.
Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or just curious about the business behind the games, this listicle will guide you through the top gaming stocks – in plain English, with a casual tech-blog tone. Grab your favorite controller (or keyboard), and let’s dive in!
1. Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft might not be the first name that comes to mind for “gaming.” Known mainly for Windows and Office, Microsoft has quietly built a gaming empire of its own. Think of Microsoft as the big friendly giant of gaming: it owns Xbox, one of the three major console platforms, and in October 2023, it completed the largest-ever gaming acquisition by buying Activision Blizzard. That $68.7 billion deal gave Microsoft a treasure trove of legendary game franchises – Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Candy Crush among them.
With this move, Microsoft jumped from being a “big player” to perhaps the ultimate boss level in gaming content. This shift means big things for the company and its stock. Microsoft’s gaming segment, under Xbox and Microsoft Gaming, got a massive boost. Thanks to Activision’s library, Xbox content and services revenue surged 50% year-over-year in FY2024, with overall gaming revenue up 39%. What was once a smaller slice of the business now commands much more attention.
The Power of Game Pass
Now, Microsoft is leveraging its new catalog. Popular Activision Blizzard titles are expected to hit Xbox Game Pass in 2024 and 2025, making the subscription even more compelling. Game Pass, often called the “Netflix of games,” could soon offer subscribers access to major hits like Call of Duty or Diablo IV as part of their monthly library.
For beginner investors, Microsoft stands out. It’s not a pure gaming stock—most revenue still comes from software and cloud services—which helps lower risk. You’re investing in a tech giant that just happens to have a powerful gaming arm. With a market cap near $3.3 trillion in 2025, Microsoft is the world’s second most valuable company, just behind Apple. Gaming is still a smaller part of the pie, but it’s growing fast.
Crucially, Microsoft is both a platform and a publisher. It builds the Xbox consoles and Windows gaming features, and owns dozens of studios, including Bethesda and Activision teams. This vertical integration—hardware, software, and services under one roof—gives Microsoft a major strategic edge. For instance, it can optimize new Xbox consoles to work seamlessly with Activision’s game engines or use Azure cloud servers for cloud gaming.
Looking to the Future: Cloud and Mobile
Speaking of cloud gaming, Microsoft leads the way with Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud), included in Game Pass Ultimate. The vision: someday you won’t need a console—just stream high-end games to your phone or TV. The Activision deal even included licensing cloud rights to Ubisoft to satisfy UK regulators, highlighting how important cloud gaming is for Microsoft’s future.
Cloud gaming is still developing—latency and internet speeds are challenges—but Microsoft’s Azure expertise and global data centers give it an advantage.
In 2025, the company’s gaming strategy focuses on integration and expansion. First, integrating Activision Blizzard: aligning cultures, retaining key talent (notably, Activision’s longtime CEO Bobby Kotick departed after the merger), and making sure iconic franchises stay strong. Gamers are watching to see if Microsoft will keep series like Call of Duty available on PlayStation. Microsoft has promised to do so through at least 2033, showing it doesn’t want to cut off millions of non-Xbox players.
Meanwhile, on its own platforms, Microsoft can use Activision’s franchises to bolster Xbox and Game Pass, potentially offering exclusive content or making top titles available day one for subscribers.
Expansion is happening in other areas too. Game Pass is growing, with ambitious internal targets (like aiming for 100 million subscribers by 2030). In late 2024, Microsoft raised Game Pass prices about 20-25%, reflecting confidence that Activision titles will increase its value. Mobile gaming is another big push—buying Activision brought King (maker of Candy Crush) into the fold, instantly giving Microsoft major presence in mobile games.
Microsoft’s deep pockets allow it to invest heavily in content and grow Game Pass, even at the expense of short-term profits. For investors, this means a company willing to sacrifice immediate returns for long-term strategic growth in gaming.
2. NVIDIA (NVDA)
If the gaming industry were a sports car, Nvidia would be the high-performance engine under the hood. This Silicon Valley company invented the modern GPU in the ‘90s and has shaped graphics technology ever since. For gamers, Nvidia’s GeForce brand is iconic—graphics cards like the RTX 30-series and 40-series deliver stunning visuals and real-time ray tracing, creating ultra-realistic lighting and reflections.
In the console world, Nvidia tech powered devices like the Nintendo Switch, but current PlayStation and Xbox chips use rival AMD tech. Still, most PC gamers swear by Nvidia GPUs for their performance and exclusive software features, giving Nvidia an almost cult-like following.
Nvidia: From Gaming to AI Powerhouse
You might wonder why Nvidia’s AI business gets so much attention when talking about gaming stocks. The reason is simple: Nvidia’s rise to a $3+ trillion market cap by 2025 has been driven by its GPUs powering artificial intelligence. In 2023–2024, as AI took off, data centers worldwide rushed to buy Nvidia’s high-end chips (like the A100 and H100) for training AI models.
To put it in perspective, in Q4 FY2024, 90% of Nvidia’s revenue came from data center/AI, and only around 7% from gaming—a major shift from earlier years. So, while gaming isn’t Nvidia’s biggest business anymore, its success in AI means more resources for gaming innovation.
This benefits gamers directly. Nvidia’s AI advances led to new GPU features like Tensor Cores, originally for AI calculations, but now used for gaming features like DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling). DLSS uses AI to upscale graphics, giving players better frame rates and sharper visuals at once.
Nvidia’s strengths go far beyond hardware. The company has built a powerful developer ecosystem with its CUDA software platform. Many game developers optimize for Nvidia because CUDA is the gold standard for GPU computing. Plus, Nvidia offers tools for real-time physics (PhysX) and even AI-driven NPC behavior, tying hardware and software together into a unique platform that’s hard to match.
Competition and The Road Ahead
AMD is Nvidia’s main rival in GPUs. AMD cards often deliver great value, but Nvidia leads in top-tier performance and features. AMD supplies the chips for PS5 and Xbox, but Nvidia still dominates the PC space among enthusiasts. Tech giants like Google and Amazon have tried making their own AI chips, but none have matched Nvidia’s dominance. Intel also entered the GPU market, but with limited traction so far.
Looking into 2025, Nvidia’s path connects gaming and AI in exciting ways. For PC gamers, all eyes are on the next generation of graphics cards—news about the RTX 5000 series is expected by late 2024 or 2025. Each generation brings big jumps in power, improving 4K gaming, VR, and graphics effects.
Meanwhile, Nvidia’s GeForce NOW cloud gaming service is growing. It lets users stream games in high quality without needing an expensive local GPU, and new partnerships could expand its reach, adding recurring revenue beyond hardware sales.
On the AI side, Nvidia is expected to keep dominating data center GPUs, indirectly benefitting gamers through more R&D and possibly better prices on gaming cards. Nvidia is also expanding into CPUs and sectors like automotive and 3D simulation (Omniverse), where its technology overlaps with game development.
From an investment perspective, Nvidia’s stock has soared—making it one of the world’s most valuable companies. This comes with high expectations, so any slowdown in AI or misstep could cause volatility. Still, under CEO Jensen Huang, Nvidia has consistently executed well and is positioned across multiple tech megatrends: gaming, AI, and data centers. This three-legged support gives Nvidia impressive stability and long-term appeal.
3. Electronic Arts (EA)
When it comes to household names in gaming, Electronic Arts (EA) stands out. Many recognize EA from the iconic “EA Sports – It’s in the game!” tagline in sports games. Since its founding in 1982, EA has built a powerhouse lineup of franchises.
EA’s sports games are its crown jewels: Madden NFL (football), FIFA (now EA Sports FC for soccer), NBA Live (basketball), NHL (hockey), and UFC (mixed martial arts). These titles sell millions each year, as fans eagerly await updated rosters and features.
Even more, EA has turned these games into cash-generating live services. Ultimate Team modes, especially in FIFA/EA Sports FC, drive billions in microtransaction sales. In FY2025, EA’s sports division hit record bookings. Just American football (Madden and College Football) brought in over $1 billion in sales that year.
EA Faces a Big Transition
But even industry leaders face challenges. 2024 was a pivotal year for EA’s top franchise. After splitting with FIFA over licensing, EA launched EA Sports FC 24—its first soccer game without the FIFA name. While the gameplay remained strong, sales dipped slightly as some fans hesitated to embrace the new branding.
EA admitted EA Sports FC 24 “underperformed net bookings expectations”. Combined with a delayed Dragon Age RPG, EA trimmed its annual bookings forecast to ~$7.1B. The stock dropped 10% on that news—showing how much rides on these major releases.
In a bright spot, EA revived College Football in 2024 after a decade away. The game became a smash hit, so much so that it likely cannibalized some Madden NFL sales. Still, EA’s overall football strategy worked, especially with strong updates to EA Sports FC. By year-end, EA slightly exceeded forecasts, posting $7.355B in net bookings.
Looking Ahead: New Franchises and Old Favorites
The coming year is shaping up to be exciting for EA. The biggest buzz is for a new Battlefield game, which will be revealed in Summer 2025 and likely launch by year-end. After a rough launch for Battlefield 2042, fans and investors are watching closely to see if EA can recapture its shooter audience.
EA is also working on the next Dragon Age and a new Mass Effect. While these likely won’t release in 2025, anticipation is high among RPG fans.
The Sims franchise continues to quietly grow. The Sims 4, free-to-play since 2022, is still hugely popular. EA has teased The Sims 5 (Project Rene), expected to feature more online and cross-device play. This would modernize the series for a new generation of social and user-driven gaming.
Financially, EA is a steady performer. The company is reliably profitable, pays a small dividend, and buys back shares—traits of a mature business. For investors, EA offers a lower volatility way to play the gaming industry, thanks to dependable sports franchises. Risks remain—competition, changing gamer habits, and regulatory scrutiny of loot boxes—but EA has managed these so far.
In 2025, key things to watch are whether EA Sports FC 25 can grow now that fans are used to the new brand, and how the Battlefield launch lands. EA is also investing in mobile gaming, having acquired Glu Mobile and offering mobile versions of its biggest franchises. While mobile is still a smaller slice of EA’s revenue, it’s a focus for future growth.
Rumors of EA being acquired by giants like Disney or Apple still swirl, adding intrigue to its position as one of the largest independents in gaming.
All told, Electronic Arts is a reliable player with valuable franchises. If you believe in the enduring appeal of sports games and see promise in EA’s upcoming titles, it’s a solid choice. Still, innovation will be key. As EA enters the post-FIFA era, 2025 will be crucial for showing how it can both stick to its strengths and try new approaches to keep gamers hooked.
4. Take-Two Interactive (TTWO)
If EA is the steady sports game factory, Take-Two Interactive is the blockbuster studio that plays by its own rules. Unlike annual releases, Take-Two’s Rockstar Games spends years crafting each title. When they finally launch a game, it becomes a cultural event.
A perfect example is Grand Theft Auto V. Released in 2013, it has generated over $7.5 billion in revenue and continues to sell year after year. Its online mode, GTA Online, is still making money through in-game purchases. Take-Two has also seen similar long-term success with Red Dead Redemption 2, released in 2018.
The Hype Around GTA VI
In 2025, everyone is talking about GTA VI. It’s widely considered the most anticipated video game ever. Analysts call it the “800-pound gorilla” expected to spark a new sales boom for the industry. Take-Two hinted that fiscal 2025 or 2026 would be a record year, with the market assuming this would be due to GTA VI.
Take-Two’s stock soared when the company reaffirmed a Fall 2025 launch for GTA VI. However, by May 2025, the release was delayed to May 26, 2026. While this short-term setback caused a stock dip, most believe it’s the right call. Rockstar is known for quality, and extra time should deliver the polish fans expect. As CEO Strauss Zelnick said, the company fully supports Rockstar taking more time to realize their vision.
For investors, this means Take-Two’s big payday is postponed. GTA VI will now boost results in fiscal 2027, not 2025. Still, Take-Two expects sequential growth in net bookings, thanks to its ongoing strengths.
The NBA 2K series is a consistent top seller, generating steady revenue through modes like MyTeam. While it doesn’t get the hype of EA’s FIFA, NBA 2K is huge in the U.S. and among younger gamers. Plus, Take-Two releases smaller titles through its various labels, like indie hits from Private Division.
Mobile Growth and the Bigger Picture
Another key move was buying Zynga in 2022 for ~$12.7B. This brought Take-Two into mobile gaming, adding titles like Words with Friends and Empires & Puzzles. The deal boosted revenue but also brought lower margins. Still, mobile gives Take-Two a bigger audience and more recurring income. When GTA VI arrives, there’s potential for a companion mobile app or game using Zynga’s expertise.
Beyond GTA, Take-Two’s other franchises include Red Dead Redemption, which might get a future sequel, and BioShock, with a new installment reportedly in development. The Borderlands series also remains active, along with WWE 2K wrestling games. But none of these are as crucial to profits as GTA or NBA 2K.
For beginner investors, know that Take-Two’s business can be a rollercoaster. Revenue and profits spike when a major game launches, then dip in quieter periods. This cycle is normal for Take-Two. Over several years, the big hits like GTA V have more than carried the company, and GTA VI is expected to do even better—some predict over $1 billion in sales in its first week.
Rockstar’s open-world games face little true competition in terms of quality. Ubisoft’s open-world titles, like Assassin’s Creed, are the closest, but don’t match GTA’s cultural impact. With no pressure to rush GTA VI, Rockstar has the chance to deliver something groundbreaking in 2026. The buzz is that GTA VI will feature multiple cities and a larger, evolving online world, which could mean big engagement and monetization after launch.
Expect major GTA VI marketing throughout 2025. Even a trailer will be an event, as seen with GTA V’s first teaser. Surprise releases or strong annual sports titles could add upside, while delays could be setbacks.
All told, Take-Two Interactive is about quality over quantity. They don’t release as many games as EA, but when they do, it’s usually a hit. For investors, patience is key—holding through the slow times for the next blockbuster payoff. GTA VI’s release will likely be massive for both the company and its stock. Until then, Take-Two relies on NBA 2K, GTA Online, and Zynga to keep revenue flowing.
Investing in TTWO is about timing and understanding these cycles. But if you want a stake in the next big gaming phenomenon, Take-Two remains one of the most exciting options in the industry.
5. Roblox Corporation (RBLX)
Imagine a virtual playground where millions of people create games for each other – that’s Roblox in a nutshell.
Unlike traditional gaming companies that make a few big games, Roblox built a platform and handed the tools to the world, inviting everyone to “make your own fun.” The response has been enormous. Every day, tens of millions of people (mostly under 18, but increasingly older teens and adults too) log into Roblox to play a huge variety of user-created games.
One moment your kid might be adopting pets in Adopt Me!, the next playing hide-and-seek in a haunted house, or even attending a virtual concert. Roblox features everything from simple obstacle courses to complex RPGs – it’s user creativity, unleashed.
The Power of User-Generated Content
From an investment perspective, what sets Roblox apart is its user-generated content (UGC) model. Instead of spending years building the next big game, Roblox relies on users to do it. Roblox’s job is to provide the infrastructure and tools that empower creators, plus an economy that rewards them.
In 2024, Roblox introduced new features to help creators build higher-quality content, like an advanced physics engine and support for more realistic avatars. They’re also testing AI tools that help write code and generate 3D models, making game development even more accessible. This could lead to an explosion in both the amount and quality of content on the platform.
To grasp the scale: Roblox had 97.8 million daily active users in Q1 2025. That’s more daily users than many top global apps. These users are highly engaged, spending billions of hours a month on the platform. People aren’t just playing – they’re socializing, creating, and spending money. In Q1 2025, users spent $1.2 billion in bookings (mostly on Robux, the virtual currency), buying everything from avatar outfits to bonus content.
Financial Picture & Growth Strategy
Roblox generates significant revenue (over $2 billion annually), but often runs at a loss due to heavy reinvestment. Supporting nearly 100 million daily users is costly – servers, safety moderation, and payouts to developers all add up.
After the pandemic, user growth slowed, but in 2024-2025, Roblox returned to growth, driven by platform improvements, new markets (like PlayStation and VR on Meta Quest), and the trend of kids spending more time online. Bookings are rising again, and Roblox has been focusing on cost discipline. In Q1 2025, it achieved over $440 million in operating cash flow and $426 million in free cash flow (excluding one-time items), showing the business can sustain itself even if net income is negative. For growth companies like Roblox, positive cash flow is a major milestone.
Roblox is also working to attract an older audience. Historically, its core users were kids (ages 9-15), but as they age up, Roblox wants to keep them. The platform now allows more mature content, introducing age 17+ games with edgier themes and events that appeal to teens and young adults.
Brands and musicians are creating content for this older crowd, like virtual concerts from Lil Nas X or digital showrooms with Gucci and Nike. Roblox is also developing an advertising system – immersive ads inside games and branded experiences – set to roll out fully by 2024-2025. If successful, advertising could become a major revenue stream.
Roblox’s expansion to VR and consoles means it’s now truly multi-platform: PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, and Oculus/Quest. This wide reach is key, letting anyone with a device access the platform. Cross-play is seamless – someone on VR can join someone on a phone in the same world.
Key Risks and What to Watch
Roblox’s young audience means safety and moderation are critical. The company invests heavily in moderation and AI tools to filter out inappropriate content. Any serious slip could damage its reputation with parents, so vigilance is essential.
Competition is another factor. Epic Games’ Fortnite is expanding its own creator tools, and Minecraft remains popular with young players. There’s always the risk that trends shift and something new pulls users away. Still, Roblox benefits from a strong network effect – lots of friends, lots of content – making it hard to dislodge.
Looking forward to 2025, watch for Roblox’s progress toward profitability. If they can keep bookings growing 20-30% annually and hold down costs, margins will improve. International growth is another key lever: Roblox is already big in North America and Europe, but has room to expand further in Asia, including ongoing efforts to re-enter China with Tencent.
For investors, RBLX is a bet on the future of gaming: a world where players are also creators, and a single platform hosts endless experiences. Roblox is more like a social network or operating system than a typical game company, which is why its valuation is often compared to tech giants. After an IPO surge and pullback, the numbers now support new optimism. For example, in Q1 2025, Roblox reported 29% revenue growth and 86% growth in operating cash flow – strong evidence that the model can scale profitably over time.
In summary, Roblox offers unique exposure to the “metaverse” and the creator-driven future of gaming. It’s the platform your kids might play on today, and with the right execution, it could still be thriving for the next generation. Roblox in 2025 is all about balancing rapid growth with profitability, and so far, the company is making impressive progress.
6. Unity Software (U)
When you play a game on your phone or PC, you probably don’t think about the “engine” running everything behind the scenes. Much like a car’s engine powers the vehicle, a game engine powers a video game’s graphics, physics, and interactions.
Unity is one of the world’s two leading game engine providers (the other is Epic’s Unreal Engine). Think of Unity as a toolkit for game developers, letting them build games without starting from scratch every time. Unity offers solutions for rendering 3D models, detecting collisions, playing audio, and more—so developers can focus on unique gameplay and stories.
Unity’s biggest strength is accessibility and reach. It’s especially popular for mobile game development, where Unreal’s focus on high-end graphics can be overkill. By 2024, Unity and Unreal together powered about 51% of the game engine market. Unity dominates mobile, with about 71% of the top 1,000 mobile games using Unity.
Why Developers and Investors Care
Unity’s key promise is this: build once, deploy anywhere. Developers can release their games on Android, iOS, PC, consoles, and even VR—saving time and money. This flexibility is crucial for indie studios and small teams.
For investors, Unity is a “picks and shovels” business. Instead of betting on individual game hits, you’re betting on the tools used to build many games. Unity makes money from software subscriptions (like Unity Pro) and services. Its merger with IronSource brought in a mobile ads business. Developers using Unity for free-to-play games can also use Unity’s ad mediation tools, giving Unity a cut of ad revenue and boosting its income per customer.
Recent Challenges and a Reset
In 2023, Unity hurt its relationship with developers by trying to impose a new runtime fee—charging based on game installs. This caused an uproar, especially among indie devs worried about surprise costs if their game became popular. The backlash was so fierce that Unity had to fully reverse the decision.
This episode showed that Unity’s reputation with developers is a critical asset. Afterward, with the CEO stepping down and new leadership promising stability and more open communication, Unity made peace offerings like removing some splash screen requirements for lower-tier subscribers.
Financially, Unity is still finding its footing. The company isn’t profitable yet by traditional accounting standards (it’s investing heavily in R&D and integrating IronSource). Still, as of early 2025, adjusted EBITDA turned positive and revenue was growing steadily. The focus is now on balancing growth with cost control. Unity’s stock, once extremely high, is now valued more realistically.
Unity’s Edge: AR/VR and Beyond
A big growth area is AR/VR (augmented and virtual reality). Apple’s launch of Vision Pro in 2024 highlighted Unity as a key partner for bringing apps to VisionOS. Unity is already strong in VR—many Oculus Quest apps are made with it. If AR/VR grows, Unity is well-placed to supply content.
Beyond gaming, Unity’s engine is used by industries like automotive and architecture for 3D simulations and walkthroughs. Non-gaming revenue is growing quickly, which helps diversify the company’s risks.
Unity’s main competitor is Epic Games’ Unreal Engine. Unreal is favored for high-end, big-budget games with next-level graphics, but Unity holds its own in mobile and simpler 3D projects. Unreal’s business model is different, charging a royalty on game revenue instead of upfront fees. After Unity’s pricing controversy, some developers considered switching to Unreal or open-source alternatives, so Unity must work to regain trust.
Unity is also pushing into AI-powered game development. Tools like Unity Muse and Unity Sentis allow creators to generate 3D content or embed AI models directly in games, making development faster—especially for small teams. This AI race is heating up as Epic also invests in AI tools for Unreal.
Unity Software is the “picks and shovels” of gaming and the broader 3D content boom. It isn’t as visible as major game publishers, but it powers a huge part of the industry. For investors, Unity offers exposure to the growth of interactive media overall, not just individual games.
The main challenges are profitability and regaining trust after recent missteps. But with millions of developers and a strong position in mobile, AR/VR, and non-gaming sectors, Unity has staying power. In 2025, watch for whether new leadership can accelerate growth, improve the ads business, and build on partnerships like Apple’s. After a tough 2023, Unity has a chance to show it can grow responsibly and be the trusted platform for creators everywhere.
