SAN FRANCISCO - China will enjoy strong growth in digital gamers, and games revenue will reach $42 billion in domestic revenue by 2022, with more than half coming from mobile games, a market research firm said Thursday.

China is by far the world's largest mobile games market with nearly 600 million gamers, which is more than double the total population of the United States, said the Research and Markets firm, which claims to have the world's largest market research store.

China makes up 25 percent of global mobile games revenue, and its mobile games market is projected to grow from 16 billion dollars in 2018 to $24.7 billion in domestic revenue in the next five years, said the research firm.

The number of mobile gamers in China is set to increase at a five-year rate 5.2 percent, from 598 million in 2018 to 720 million in 2021, it said.

Mobile games revenue is the fastest growing segment, which is projected to overtake PC online games this year, making up nearly two-thirds of total games revenue in 2022.

Online sports games continue to be one of the strongest drivers of growth, with battle royale the hottest new genre on mobile platforms, according to the firm's report.

In terms of spending, core game genres are leading the charge, and casual games are also one of the sources of revenues.

The report also reveals an increasing number of female consumers who play and spend in the virtual world of video games.