In March 2025, total video games sales in the United States amounted to **** billion U.S. dollars, representing a six percent year-over-year decrease. Generally speaking, the video game industry has its most important months in November and December, as video game software and hardware make very popular Christmas gifts. In December 2024, total U.S. video game sales surpassed **** billion U.S. dollars. Birth of the video game industry Although the largest regional market in terms of sales, as well as number of gamers, is Asia Pacific, the United States is also an important player within the global video games industry. In fact, many consider the United States as the birthplace of gaming as we know it today, fueled by the arcade game fever in the ’60s and the introduction of the first personal computers and home gaming consoles in the ‘70s. Furthermore, the children of those eras are the game developers and game players of today, the ones who have driven the movement for better software solutions, better graphics, better sound and more advanced interaction not only for video games, but also for computers and communication technologies of today. An ever-changing market However, the video game industry in the United States is not only growing, it is also changing in many ways. Due to increased internet accessibility and development of technologies, more and more players are switching from single-player console or PC video games towards multiplayer games, as well as social networking games and last, but not least, mobile games, which are gaining tremendous popularity around the world. This can be evidenced in the fact that mobile games accounted for ** percent of the revenue of the games market worldwide, ahead of both console games and downloaded or boxed PC games.

Video gaming content, including mobile gaming apps, accounts for the bulk of the annual video gaming industry revenue in the United States. In 2024, the total revenue of the U.S. video game industry amounted to ***** billion U.S. dollars, down from the ***** billion U.S. dollars a year earlier. Overall, the monthly revenue of the video gaming industry sees some fluctuation throughout the year, with lows in the summer months, and higher sales during the holiday season. Going digital and not turning back Over the last few years, digital gaming sales have been growing slowly but steadily and exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many consumers switched to digital game downloads instead of visiting brick-and-mortar retail locations and did not return to their previous shopping patterns after the normalization of the health emergency. Coupled with the ever-growing availability of high-speed internet connections and the release of the new flagship gaming console generation by Microsoft (Xbox) and Sony (PlayStation), comfort and convenience won over in-store browsing. Additionally, digital game storefronts across all gaming platforms frequently run sales and special offers that physical retailers rarely match. In 2022, the average revenue per user of physical video game sales in the United States amounted to ***** U.S. dollars, whereas the ARPU of game downloads only came to ***** U.S. dollars, reflecting the higher price of physical video game copies and the lower average price of digital games. Overall, the average monthly video game expenditure of U.S. gamers decreased to ***** U.S. dollars in 2023, down from ***** U.S. dollars in 2022. The struggles of the gaming hardware segment In contrast to the booming digital gaming content sales, the gaming hardware segment did not have an easy time in 2020 and 2021. What was supposed to be a year of triumph with the long-announced release of the ninth generation of video game consoles with the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S in November 2020 quickly turned into a tale of woe. The ongoing global chip shortage, which started in early 2020 due to COVID-19 -related disruptions in global supply chains and logistics, strongly constrained the availability of chips to produce video gaming consoles. Additional factors such as trade wars, increased demand for hardware due to crypto mining, severe weather, and war impacting raw material exports continue to plague the global chip industry to this day. The lack of availability of the new consoles also led to scalpers taking advantage of the situation, leaving a sour taste for consumers.Console makers managed to turn things around, and while sales of the new consoles were not as good as they could have been, 2022 saw some recovery, and 2023 managed to get console sales back on track, despite global economic worries. In the first eleven months of 2023, Sony managed to sell close to ** million PlayStation 5 consoles, with Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S selling about *** million units.

In March 2025, Assassin's Creed Shadows was the top-selling video game in the United States based on dollar sales. MLB: The Show 25 ranked second. The video game sales charts that month were dominated by blockbuster franchise games.

Snapshot img

Video Game Market Size 2025-2029

The video game market size is forecast to increase by USD 111.7 billion, at a CAGR of 8.6% between 2024 and 2029.

The market is experiencing significant growth, driven by the increasing penetration of smartphones and improving internet access worldwide. This digital transformation has expanded the gaming audience beyond traditional demographics, with an increasing number of women embracing gaming. However, the market faces a notable challenge that is the escalating cost of game development. To remain competitive, companies must continuously innovate and invest in advanced technologies, such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, to create immersive gaming experiences.
Additionally, the growing demand for mobile games necessitates a focus on cross-platform compatibility and adaptive game design. Companies that successfully navigate these challenges and cater to the evolving needs of diverse gaming demographics will thrive in this dynamic market.

What will be the Size of the Video Game Market during the forecast period?

Explore in-depth regional segment analysis with market size data - historical 2019-2023 and forecasts 2025-2029 - in the full report.
Request Free Sample

The market continues to evolve, with dynamic market dynamics shaping various sectors. Simulation games, esports organizations, and AAA titles coexist, each presenting unique challenges and opportunities. Competitor analysis is crucial for game publishers seeking to optimize player engagement and revenue generation. Real-time strategy (RTS) games and monetization strategies, such as in-app purchases and subscription models, are key areas of focus. Game studios invest in intellectual property (IP) development, leveraging game engines like Unreal and Unity for game development and user interface (UI) design. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, along with cloud gaming, are transforming the gaming landscape.

Player retention is a top priority, with game updates, social media, and game streaming platforms playing essential roles. Game testing, network programming, and AI programming ensure optimal user experience (UX). Character modeling, fighting games, and puzzle games cater to diverse target audiences, while game design documents guide game development processes. PC gaming and console gaming continue to dominate, with mobile devices expanding the market reach. Game physics, sound design, and level design are integral components of game development. Game marketing strategies, player communities, and online forums foster user engagement. Game localization and quality assurance (QA) processes ensure global accessibility and product excellence.

The continuous unfolding of market activities and evolving patterns underscore the dynamic nature of the video game industry.

How is this Video Game Industry segmented?

The video game industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD billion' for the period 2025-2029, as well as historical data from 2019-2023 for the following segments.

Platform

  PlayStation
  Xbox
  Nintendo
  PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, etc.)
  Mobile (iOS, Android)


Type

  Offline
  Online


End-User

  Hardcore Gamers
  Casual Gamers
  Esports Enthusiasts


Revenue Model

  Game Sales (Digital & Physical)
  In-Game Purchases
  Subscriptions
  Advertising


Geography

  North America

    US
    Canada


  Europe

    France
    Germany
    Italy
    UK


  Middle East and Africa

    Egypt
    KSA
    Oman
    UAE


  APAC

    China
    India
    Japan


  South America

    Argentina
    Brazil


  Rest of World (ROW)

By Platform Insights

The playstation segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period.

The market encompasses various segments, including sports games, data analytics, game engines, user interface (UI), game development, augmented reality (AR), game controllers, game testing, game art, subscription models, and console gaming. In 2024, the mobile devices segment was the largest and continues to be the leading segment in the market, with over 3.5 billion smartphone and tablet users worldwide. Mobile games cater to a broader audience, including casual gamers, as they are typically smaller in scale and complexity and can be played in short bursts. The market's growth is driven by advancements in technology, increasing consumer demand, and the integration of social media and streaming platforms. Game development companies invest in AI programming, game physics, and game engines like Unreal Engine to create immersive and harmonious gaming experiences. They also focus on player engagement, player retention, and monetization strategies, including in-app purchases, subscription models, and advertising.

Game publishers collaborate with ga

Field Description img : URL slug for the box art at vgchartz.com title : Game title console : Console the game was released for genre : Genre of the game publisher : Publisher of the game developer: Developer of the game critic_score: Metacritic score (out of 10) total_sales : Global sales of copies in millions na_sales : North American sales of copies in millions jp_sales : Japanese sales of copies in millions pal_sales : European & African sales of copies in millions other_sales : Rest of world sales of copies in millions release_date : Date the game was released on last_update : Date the data was last updated

As well as being one of the leading gaming market in terms of revenue, the United States is also considered by many as the birthplace of gaming as we know it today. In 2023, the video game market size in the United States was estimated to be *** billion U.S. dollars, not quite reaching the 2020 record of *** billion U.S. dollars.

In 2023, the Video Gaming Market reached a value of USD 229.70 billion, and it is projected to surge to USD 460.33 billion by 2030.

In 2016, the global video game imports amounted to 565K tons, ascending by 4% against the previous year figure. In general, video game imports continue to indicate a pronounced setback. The most pro...

The graph shows the distribution of U.S. video game sales by genre. In 2018, 11.1 percent of all video games sold in the United States were sports games.

This dataset contains the following data about >60.000 video games scraped from VGChartz: - title - sales (total, North America, Japan, PAL region + other) - total_shipped - publisher - developer - release_date - platform - scores (user, VGChartz & critic score)

The scraper code can be found here.

Content

You'll find your favourite video games and how popular they were based on their sales.

Acknowledgements

This data comes from https://data.world/sumitrock/video-games-sales.

Explore the forecasted growth of the video game console market in Asia-Pacific, with expectations of a 1.0% increase in market volume and value over the next decade. By 2035, the market is projected to reach 270M units and $42.4B in value.

In January 2025, the retail gaming revenue in the United States amounted to **** billion U.S. dollars. When looking at particular segment revenues, accessories were the lowest-performing segment at retail overall, while video gaming content accounted for the gross of consumer spending. Video game spending habits in the United States More than four in ten U.S. gamers across all platforms were willing to spend a maximum of ** to ** U.S. dollars on a video game. A November 2022 survey found that more than four in ten PC and console gamers stated so, while over three in ten mobile-only gamers said they only played free games. Console gamers were most comfortable spending money on their hobby at this price point. In 2023, total U.S. consumer spending on video game content amounted to **** billion U.S. dollars, a one percent increase from **** billion U.S. dollars in the preceding year. Game releases are planned around the holiday season What is very specific to the industry at large is that the highest monthly revenues occur around the holiday season in November and December of each year. The entire market revolves around maximizing sales during the season, and most new game releases of high-budget, high-profile titles (so-called AAA games) are planned shortly before the winter holidays. Many of these annual blockbuster releases see releases from late Q3 onwards: EA Sports FC usually releases in late September, and new games in Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty series are launched between late October and early November.For the holiday season 2023, blockbusters Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield had already started the season of major video game releases. Other AAA titles that are also taking advantage of the Christmas shopping release window are the Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty DLC, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 as well as the Nintendo Switch release of Hogwarts Legacy and the PS5 port of mobile gaming title Honkai Star Rail by Genshin Impact publisher MiHoYo.

Context

Motivated by Gregory Smith's web scrape of VGChartz Video Games Sales, this data set simply extends the number of variables with another web scrape from Metacritic. Unfortunately, there are missing observations as Metacritic only covers a subset of the platforms. Also, a game may not have all the observations of the additional variables discussed below. Complete cases are ~ 6,900

Content

Alongside the fields: Name, Platform, Year_of_Release, Genre, Publisher, NA_Sales, EU_Sales, JP_Sales, Other_Sales, Global_Sales, we have:-

• Critic_score - Aggregate score compiled by Metacritic staff
• Critic_count - The number of critics used in coming up with the Critic_score
• User_score - Score by Metacritic's subscribers
• User_count - Number of users who gave the user_score
• Developer - Party responsible for creating the game
• Rating - The ESRB ratings

Acknowledgements

This repository, https://github.com/wtamu-cisresearch/scraper, after a few adjustments worked extremely well!

Inspiration

It would be interesting to see any machine learning techniques or continued data visualizations applied on this data set.

The global market for video game consoles is projected to experience steady growth over the next decade, driven by increasing demand worldwide. By 2035, the market volume is expected to reach 376 million units, with a market value of $69.8 billion in nominal prices.

Datasets containing seventh console generation sales and aggregated review scores for games.

The COVID-19 pandemic that spread across the world at the beginning of 2020 was not only a big threat to public health, but also to the entire entertainment industry. While cinemas and theaters closed their doors to try to stem the spread of the disease, many people turned to home entertainment during periods of self-isolation. From March 16 to March 22, a total of 1.58 million physical game titles were sold worldwide. This 82 percent total increase from the previous week is, in part, due to the release of new titles Animal Crossing: New Horizons and DOOM: Eternal. However, even when sales of these two games are deducted, physical game sales were still 10.8 percent higher than the previous week, suggesting that many people were turning to video gaming to keep them entertained through the crisis.

The video game console market in China is expected to see continued growth over the next decade, with market performance forecasted to expand at a CAGR of +1.1% from 2023 to 2035. By the end of 2035, the market volume is projected to reach 262M units, with a market value of $38.4B in nominal prices.

In 2022, social and casual gaming sector without advertising generated more revenue than the video game advertising sector. The mobile-heavy segment saw approximately 86 billion U.S. dollars in annual global revenues, while traditional gaming generated 56 billion U.S. dollars in annual sales. Digital revenue is dominating the gaming segment, as physical gaming sales are declining for a variety of reasons.

In the fiscal year ending March 2025, gaming and entertainment company Square Enix generated approximately 20.91 million gaming unit sales via download. Packaged (disc) games only amounted to 4.53 million unit sales. This result highlights the trend of digital gaming downloads now also outperforming packaged gaming sales in the console segment.