UK Video Games Market: Annual Report 2023

The 2023 UK video games market demonstrated resilient growth, with total revenue reaching £4.73 billion, a 2.9% increase over the previous year. This performance was driven by a robust digital sector, which accounted for £4.24 billion of the total, reflecting a 3.8% year-over-year rise. Conversely, physical game sales experienced a decline of 4.4%, totaling £495 million. Hardware spending served as a significant contributor to the market's health, rising 10.8% to £934 million.

Market segmentation highlights the dominance of digital and mobile platforms. "Other Digital and Online" services—encompassing subscriptions and in-app purchases—represented the largest segment at 40%, followed by mobile gaming at 29%. Smartphones remained the primary gaming device, capturing 35.6% of total usage, while consoles and PC/laptops followed at 25.8% and 21.8%, respectively.

Hardware performance was characterized by the success of the PlayStation 5, which emerged as the market leader with 1.2 million units sold, a 55.2% increase. In contrast, both the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S saw declines in unit sales and total value. The software landscape was defined by high-profile releases, with EA Sports FC 24 leading overall sales at 2.39 million copies, followed closely by Hogwarts Legacy at 1.92 million. While EA Sports FC 24 dominated digital console charts, Hogwarts Legacy secured the top position for physical retail and digital PC sales. These findings, derived from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) 2024 yearbook, provide a comprehensive overview of the UK gaming landscape throughout the 2023 calendar year.