Desktop monitor shipments reach 133.4 million units in 2025 as gaming monitors fuel recovery

Desktop monitor shipments reached 133.4 million units in 2025, up 4.3% year-on-year, indicating a recovery from post-pandemic disruptions. The growth also reflects how monitors are increasingly evolving into versatile, high-value tools for laptop-dominated environments, with gaming helping drive demand for higher-performance displays.

Gaming monitors underpin the expansion

Global gaming monitor shipments rose to 41 million units in 2025, up 50.2% year-on-year. Gaming monitors accounted for 31.1% of total desktop monitor shipments. In 4Q25, gaming monitor shipments increased for the eleventh consecutive quarter and reached the highest level since Omdia began tracking the category.

Omdia said the gaming segment is expanding faster than the conventional monitor market, establishing gaming monitors as a key growth driver. Momentum is being supported by added value and enhanced functionality, including rapid adoption of models with refresh rates above 120 Hz, along with improvements in responsiveness and screen size aligned with modern gaming requirements.

“Gaming monitors are expected to keep pace with the evolution of CPUs/GPUs and the increasing performance demands of gaming content,” said Hidetoshi Himuro, Senior Principal Analyst at Omdia.

Himuro also pointed to a relationship between GPU upgrades and monitor refresh-rate trends, noting that when NVIDIA’s RTX50 series graphics cards enter the market, higher-refresh-rate gaming monitors tend to follow.

OLED and dual-mode features broaden appeal

The gaming monitor market is also diversifying across product tiers. OLED-equipped gaming monitors—led by Samsung’s QD-OLED and LG’s WOLED—are gaining share due to perfect black levels and fast response times that improve visual fidelity and responsiveness compared with LCDs. However, high manufacturing costs keep most OLED offerings in the premium segment.

At the same time, improved specifications at lower price points and models using previous-generation technologies are addressing the needs of lightweight and first-time gamers. Omdia said this combination—premium innovation at the top and value-oriented improvements at the entry level—is expanding the category’s reach and reinforcing gaming monitors as a high-spec companion to native notebook PC displays.

Outlook for 2026: premium panels and performance-first demand

Gaming monitor shipments are projected to expand to 43 million units in 2026, supported by increased cost-effectiveness and added functionality. Omdia expects the desktop monitor market to intensify activity, particularly within gaming, as the future becomes more closely tied to premium display technologies.

Esports growth is contributing to a performance-first ecosystem, concentrating demand on 240–360 Hz gaming monitors with 1ms or lower response times as pro players prioritize competitive advantage over price.

Adoption is also linked to price-to-performance for 27-inch, 240Hz QHD (1440p) OLED models with a 0.03ms response time, which have gained traction as prices drop. Omdia said advanced panel technologies such as OLED and QD-OLED are capturing significant market share.

Dual-mode monitors gain traction

Dual-mode gaming monitors are also growing in popularity because they reduce the trade-off for players who split time between fast-paced competitive shooters and high-fidelity cinematic titles. These monitors allow users to toggle between high-resolution and high-refresh-rate modes—for example, 4K at 240 Hz and 1080p at 480 Hz.

Omdia said dual-mode models can outperform traditional scaling by using hardware integer scaling to preserve sharpness at lower resolutions, while integrated AI supports real-time image optimization and automatic brightness adjustment. The firm expects dual-mode gaming monitors to grow by double digits in 2026, reflecting both upgrade cycles and future-proofing.

Key challenges remain

Despite strong demand trends, several factors may limit broader market penetration. High manufacturing costs for OLED panels can make high-end monitors less accessible to budget-conscious consumers, and OLED burn-in concerns persist despite improvements. In addition, supply chain and material volatility—linked to semiconductor shortages and geopolitical tensions—can disrupt production schedules and increase costs, adding uncertainty for the industry.