2023 UK game sales “holding the fort” compared to 2022, but still show signs of growth

16.04.2024 - 11:49 / gamesindustry.biz

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2024 so far has been challenging in the industry. This is a good time to take stock of last year’s performance to gauge demand-side conditions and what direction consumer spending is going in the UK when it comes to full games (games that are paid for upfront).

With the complete set of UK retail and GSD tracked digital data in for 2023, we can reflect on some good news that the year turned out quite positive:

When it came to video game spending in the UK during 2023, unfavourable economic headwinds did not dampen spending when it came to full video games.

In this analysis, I will use Game Sales Data (GSD) to take a snapshot of the UK's full game market during 2023. GSD provides a holistic view of the video game market, combining both physical disc format games bought at retail as well as digital code on receipts bought at retail and games directly bought from the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop, and all major PC digital stores, including Steam, Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Store, EA Play and so on.

From the highest perspective, full-game unit sales came to 38.2 million units in 2023, an increase of 3% compared to 2022.

Between January and April in both 2022 and 2023, the two years almost matched each other in combined unit sales. Each year saw the release of successful titles in the early months. In 2022, Elden Ring, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and Horizon Forbidden West all had successful releases and in 2023, Hogwarts Legacy, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Resident Evil 4 also performed well with their respective release. It was only from May that 2023 began to outperform 2022.

In Chart 2, the shift towards stronger sales in 2023 occurred in May with the release of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Strong sales for Nintendo's game were further enhanced in June when Activision Blizzard released Diablo 4. For comparison, the combined sales of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Diablo 4 in their respective first weeks on the market were five times higher than the combined sales of last year’s F1 22 and The Quarry, the two best-selling new releases in May and June of 2022.

For the second half of the year, the margins in unit sell-through between the two years got tighter. In September, EA Sports FC 24 (2023) sold 8% fewer units than FIFA 23 (2022). When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 released in November 2023, it sold 8% fewer units compared to the October 2022 numbers for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. These losses were somewhat offset with the release of Starfield in September 2023, plus Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Super Mario Bros. Wonder in October 2023.

In respect to new game sales