UK Entertainment Landscape Shifts as Video Surpasses Gaming

The UK's entertainment landscape has undergone a significant change, with video emerging as the leading medium for the first time in over a decade. According to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), video game revenue in the UK reached £4.74 billion in 2023, marking a 2.9% increase from the previous year. This figure encompasses both digital and physical game sales across PC, mobile, and console platforms. However, video-based content experienced a 10% surge in revenue, reaching £4.9 billion, driven primarily by subscription services such as Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV, which account for 89% of the video market. The best-selling video title of the year was Avatar: The Way of the Water, with 560,000 units sold. This shift in the entertainment landscape marks the first time since 2012 that video games have not held the top spot in the UK. The ERA's data, compiled from figures provided by GfK, the Official Charts Company, Omdia, and Futuresource, also indicate that music revenue rose to £2.2 billion in 2023, representing a 9.6% year-on-year increase and approaching the industry's peak in 2001. Notably, 92% of sales across all three entertainment mediums were attributed to digital downloads or streaming. A comparison of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic era to 2023 reveals a 29.2% increase in video game revenue, an 88.3% surge in video revenue, and a 38.8% growth in music revenue. For a more in-depth analysis of the UK games market in 2023, further information is available.