The value of the UK games market dipped to £7.05 billion in 2022
The value of the UK games market dipped to £7.05 billion in 2022, according to trade body Ukie.
Although the figure represents a 5.6% decline compared to 2021, when the value of the market hit a revised record of £7.47 billion, Ukie said it was still 17% above pre-pandemic levels.
“This figure represents a stabilisation following several years of unprecedented growth,” the trade body said in its newly published Consumer Market Valuation report.
Compared to 2021, sales of all forms of video game hardware fell 19% last year to £2.16 billion.
Console hardware revenue was down 27% year-on-year to £832 million, PC game hardware fell 14% to £760 million, console game and accessories sales declined 15% to £396 million, and VR hardware was down 6.6% to £171 million.
“Console hardware remained the biggest sector in game hardware but saw the steepest decline in 2022 due in part to the natural progression and uptake of ninth generation consoles which is set against the decline of the previous generation,” according to Dorian Bloch, senior client director at GfK.
“Other factors included well-documented supply chain component issues, higher cost of raw materials due to shortages and shipping slow-down at warehouses and ports, which affected all hardware sectors including video games.
“Much can still be attributed to Covid uncertainty, but the Russia-Ukraine war, recession, inflation, rising energy/food/living costs all play a part in dampening consumer confidence, with consumers putting off major purchase decisions – including of course game hardware.”
Software revenues in 2022 grew 0.4% to £4.57 billion, with mobile game sales up 11% year-on-year to £1.43 billion and digital PC sales up 2.2% to £660 million.
Digital console game revenues
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