UK Game Sales Show Resilience in 2023, Despite Economic Headwinds

The year 2024 has proven to be challenging for the gaming industry, making it an ideal time to assess the previous year's performance and gauge the direction of consumer spending on full games in the UK. With the complete set of UK retail and GSD-tracked digital data available for 2023, the results show a positive outlook: combined physical and digital unit sales increased by 3% compared to 2022, while average price increases for new games rose by 14% between 2021 and 2023. Although the transition to digital has slowed, unit sales for digital full games continue to grow as a share of the total UK market. In 2023, video game spending in the UK remained resilient despite unfavorable economic conditions, with full-game unit sales reaching 38.2 million units, a 3% increase from 2022. The first four months of 2022 and 2023 saw similar combined unit sales, with successful title releases in both years. However, 2023 began to outperform 2022 from May onwards, driven by the release of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Activision Blizzard's Diablo 4. The second half of the year saw tighter margins in unit sales between the two years, with some losses offset by the release of Starfield, Assassin's Creed Mirage, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. New game sales performed strongly in 2023, with 11.8 million units sold, a marginal decline of 1% compared to 2022 but 10% higher than in 2021. Catalogue game sales reached 26.4 million units, a 5% increase from 2022 but 11% lower than in 2021. The value proposition offered by games has become increasingly attractive, with spending on full games for both physical and digital formats reaching £1.27 billion, a 4% increase from 2022 and 5% higher than in 2021. Digital full game spending drove this growth, increasing by 8% to £785 million, while physical disc spending declined by 2% to £487 million. The average price of games in the UK has increased, with physical boxed brand new games rising from £50 in 2021 to £57 in 2023, and digital format prices increasing from £59 to £68. Despite these price increases, unit sales have remained strong, with the top ten best-selling games by units in 2023 showing a 2% decline in sales compared to 2022. In conclusion, the 2023 UK full video game sales data indicates a resilient market, with 3% growth in unit sales and 5% growth in spending, driven by strong consumer spending on both physical and digital formats.