Wednesday, February 19th 2025
Gaming Monitor Panel Growth to Slow in 2025—LCD Up 5%, OLED Up 40%
TrendForce's latest investigations reveal that global LCD gaming monitor panel shipments (>144 Hz) reached 32.42 million units in 2024, marking a 12% YoY increase. However, due to a lack of major demand catalysts and struggling profitability in mainstream gaming monitors, 2025 shipments are expected to grow at a slower rate of 5%, reaching approximately 34 million units.
TrendForce notes that Chinese panel makers were the primary force behind LCD gaming monitor panel growth in 2024. In a bid to improve profitability, many have aggressively expanded into the gaming monitor segment and increased production capacity. Additionally, the release of the highly anticipated game Black Myth: Wukong in late 2024 further boosted demand in China, driving YoY shipment increases of nearly 50% for HKC, 40% for CSOT, and over 20% for BOE.
Looking ahead, shipments of LCD gaming monitor panels are expected to slow due to two key factors. First, the inclusion of esports at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 launch of Black Myth: Wukong significantly fueled demand, particularly in China. However, no similar market-driving events have been identified for 2025.
Second, despite the abundance of mainstream 165 Hz models, intense price competition has made profitability difficult for panel makers, prompting a gradual reduction in the production of these models. TrendForce expects that, apart from HKC's continued aggressive market expansion, other panel makers will take a more conservative approach to shipments.
In contrast, the OLED gaming monitor panel segment experienced explosive growth in 2024, with global shipments surging 132% YoY. This rapid increase was primarily driven by the mass production of mainstream 27-inch and 31.5-inch OLED gaming monitors, which only began in late 2023, leaving the market still in its early development stage in 2024. Additionally, SDC aggressively lowered prices to expand panel sales, significantly boosting shipment volumes.
TrendForce observes that while more brands are expected to invest in OLED gaming monitors in 2025, panel makers will focus on maintaining OLED's high-end positioning and profitability, leading to slower price reductions. Consequently, OLED gaming monitor panel shipments are projected to grow by 40% in 2025, marking the transition into a more stable growth phase.
Source:
TrendForce
TrendForce notes that Chinese panel makers were the primary force behind LCD gaming monitor panel growth in 2024. In a bid to improve profitability, many have aggressively expanded into the gaming monitor segment and increased production capacity. Additionally, the release of the highly anticipated game Black Myth: Wukong in late 2024 further boosted demand in China, driving YoY shipment increases of nearly 50% for HKC, 40% for CSOT, and over 20% for BOE.
Second, despite the abundance of mainstream 165 Hz models, intense price competition has made profitability difficult for panel makers, prompting a gradual reduction in the production of these models. TrendForce expects that, apart from HKC's continued aggressive market expansion, other panel makers will take a more conservative approach to shipments.
In contrast, the OLED gaming monitor panel segment experienced explosive growth in 2024, with global shipments surging 132% YoY. This rapid increase was primarily driven by the mass production of mainstream 27-inch and 31.5-inch OLED gaming monitors, which only began in late 2023, leaving the market still in its early development stage in 2024. Additionally, SDC aggressively lowered prices to expand panel sales, significantly boosting shipment volumes.
TrendForce observes that while more brands are expected to invest in OLED gaming monitors in 2025, panel makers will focus on maintaining OLED's high-end positioning and profitability, leading to slower price reductions. Consequently, OLED gaming monitor panel shipments are projected to grow by 40% in 2025, marking the transition into a more stable growth phase.
6 Comments on Gaming Monitor Panel Growth to Slow in 2025—LCD Up 5%, OLED Up 40%
I guess if you can't get a gpu why change the monitor. I would buy a 4K monitor but for what?! i'm not spending 4000 euros every 2 years. The way is more downgrade to 1080p and i know people that are doing this.
Paneltech for TV's and Monitors gets drip fed to the Market in small increments and moves on a glacial scale. Quality wise, we slowly reached levels in 2024-25, which mastering monitors already achieved in 2010-12.
And those go from $30.000 to “the sky is the limit”.
It will most likely still be another 2-5 years before there will be affordable (below 1000€) high variable refresh rate 4K Monitors with proper color accuracy and really working HDR implementations. (soooo many PR lies on products :()
Yeah, graphics card manufactures gold plating every additional (AI generated) frame to the previous gen, does not help at all. (Looking at you RTX 5080 with XX70 specs and Halo tier pricing. :kookoo:):fear: