Number-crunching services SuperData Research and Newzoo released reports today forecasting strong growth in the MMO industry. According to the analysts, worldwide spending on MMOs will top $ 12 billion this year — and that’s not all. The companies predict that this number will increase to a whopping $ 17.5 billion in 2015.

Other facts released in the reports include the following:

• Yearly MMO market growth increased by 14% in the US and 24% in Germany.
• The number of MMOs in the field has doubled since the start of 2011.
• 23 of the 50 million US MMO gamers spend money on subscriptions or microtransactions, a 3% increase from 2011. The yearly average amount spent is $ 127.
• More German players spend money on MMOs than in the US — 13% more, to be exact.
• Free-to-play revenues in the US now account for 50% of the market, up from 39% in 2010.
• Science fiction MMOs make up to three times as much money as their fantasy counterparts.

SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen says that the race for gamers’ wallets is only getting started: “The current market saturation forces MMO publishers to compete over a finite gamer population.”

[Source: SuperData Research/Newzoo press release]