The audience for online game video content has continued to skyrocket in recent years, and now a recent report from game analytics firm Newzoo BV and marketing agency Nevaly says that the number of people watching gaming videos could reach over 500 million by the end of the year.

“Online video is the biggest thing to hit the games market since the launch of the iPhone in 2007,” Newzoo CEO Peter Warman said in a statement. “Games are evolving towards cross-screen transmedia franchises right now. A direct consequence is the increased focus on communities of both gamers and viewers. This is creating enormous new growth and marketing opportunities for game companies and will accelerate the disruption of traditional media.”

According to Newzoo, well over half of all gamers worldwide watch online gaming content of some kind, and YouTube continues to be the dominant platform in terms of total viewers, followed by livestreaming site Twitch.

Newzoo and Nevaly noted that the average viewer of gaming content on YouTube is “male, 28 years old and has a high income,” which falls into the sweet spot of one of the most sought after demographics by marketers.

Even better, the firms say that online video is one of the most effective ways for advertisers to reach big spending gamers, meaning the gamers considered to be the top 20 percent highest spenders. According to the report, 35 percent of the highest spending gamers cite online video as their primary means of discovering new games, more than double the amount who say they use television commercials.

Conversion rates are also high for online video, with YouTube boasting a 14 percent conversion rate compared to 10 percent on Facebook or 4 percent on Twitter.

You can download a full infographic illustrating Newzoo’s and Nevaly’s analysis of the game video market here.

photo credit: IMG_0331 via photopin (license)