US Gaming Revenue Sees 5% Decline in 2022, Reaching $57 Billion

A recent report by the NPD Group reveals that the US gaming industry generated $57 billion in revenue in 2022, marking a 5% decrease from the $60 billion earned in 2021. The majority of this revenue, approximately 84%, came from software sales, which totaled $47.5 billion but saw a 7% decline from the previous year. This decrease encompasses sales of digital games, downloadable content, and subscriptions across various platforms, including consoles, cloud, mobile, portable, PC, and VR hardware. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 emerged as the best-selling game of 2022, followed closely by Elden Ring and Madden NFL 23. In the realm of exclusive titles, God of War: Ragnarok led the charge on PlayStation, Pokémon: Scarlet and Violet dominated Nintendo platforms, and Forza Horizon 5 was the top-performing Microsoft exclusive. Contrasting with the decline in software sales, hardware revenues experienced an 8% increase, reaching $6.57 billion. The Nintendo Switch was the top-selling console in terms of units sold, although the PlayStation 5 generated the highest hardware dollar sales. Additionally, spending on gaming accessories saw an 8% uptick, amounting to $2.5 billion, with the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller being the best-selling gamepad of the year. December 2022 saw Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Pokémon: Scarlet and Violet, and God of War Ragnarok as the top-selling games, with overall consumer spending increasing by 2% to $7.6 billion. Hardware sales for the month surged 16% to $1.53 billion, led by the PlayStation 5.