UK games market stabilised in 2022, following years of major growth

Video games stand firm as the industry balances out after a boom during the pandemic.

The UK video game market is holding strong as pandemic after-effects level out industry performance.

Dropping slightly in value from 2021 as the country readjusts to life, the market is valued at £7.05 billion, up 17% from its pre-pandemic (2019) valuation, according to UKIE's Consumer Market Valuation report.

UKIE CEO Dr. Jo Twist OBE said: "We're pleased to see the UK video games consumer market has maintained its growth trajectory and remains in-line with where we expected it to be in 2019.

"Although we may have seen a natural levelling off following increased spending during the lockdown years, it's clear that the appetite for games and games culture in the UK is still strong."

Of this total value, mobile software rose 11% to £1.43 billion whereas digital console sales fell 4.7% to £1.98 billion, however the total value of software within the market rose 0.4% to £4.57 billion.

Despite being nowhere close to its pre-pandemic value of £9.93 million, the UK's video game events sector is bouncing back. Due to continuing events such as Insomnia and one-off competitions such as the Pokémon World Championship (held in London), event revenues have more than tripled compared to 2021, to £4.35 million.

For the first time, data has shown what share of UK expenditure is on UK-made game titles, thanks to data provided by UKIE and GfK. Of a total £4.57 billion spent, 16% is on UK-made games, including hits such as TT Games' Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which was one of the 2023 ERA Yearbook's top performing titles.

Additionally, it was the most successful year to date for video game IP based films at the UK box office, with the sector's value increasing 66% from £33 million in 2019 to £54.8 million in 2022.

Harriet Finney, the BFI's Deputy CEO and Executive Director of Corporate & Industry Affairs said: "Development spending on creating new video games fluctuates year-on-year, influenced by when work starts on larger video game projects.

"However, the continued strength of the UK video games sector shows how it is contributing creatively to the creative industries as well as jobs and additional revenue to the UK economy."