Port Washington, NY, August 29, 2018 – Overall total industry consumer spending on video gaming in the U.S. reached $19.5 billion in the first half of 2018 (Jan.-June), an increase of 40 percent compared to the same time period last year, according to the latest Games Market Dynamics: U.S. report from leading global information company The NPD Group.

Video game content sales increased 43 percent to $16.9 billion. All content categories, which include full-game, DLC/MTX, subscriptions, and mobile saw increases, with mobile games experiencing the most growth.

The software titles having the most positive impact on dollar sales in the first half of the year include (listed alphabetically) Candy Crush, Far Cry 5, Fortnite, God of War, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and Roblox.

Thanks to strong sales across all gaming platforms, particularly sales for Xbox One and plug & play devices such as Nintendo’s Super NES Classic Edition, spending on video game hardware hit a 7-year high, increasing 21 percent to $1.7 billion during the first half of the year; and accessory sales* increased 41 percent, with headset/headphone sales nearly doubling over the same time period.

“Video Game industry spending in the U.S. showed strong growth in the first half of 2018, with content sales driving performance across all platform segments including mobile, console, portable, and PC,” said Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group. “Hardware and accessories also reflected strong performance, while the evolving segment of subscription spending has experienced an accelerated growth rate. I maintain an optimistic outlook for the remainder of 2018, thanks in part to the strong lineup of titles set to be released in the fourth quarter. This, combined with continued strength in hardware and accessory spending, should result in double-digit annual percentage gains for the total market.”

Methodology: Games Market Dynamics: U.S. provides a comprehensive measure of the consumer spend on video games in the U.S. including purchases of video games hardware, software and accessories as well as on PC games.

It is released on a quarterly basis and provides insight and trending into the broader consumer spend on the industry including physical format sales such as new and used physical retail sales as well as game rentals, and digital format sales including full game digital downloads and downloadable content (DLC), spending on subscriptions and mobile gaming.

This assessment of the broader consumer spend on the industry utilizes NPD’s monthly POS tracking services as well as consumer data from other NPD trackers, monitors, and reports.

*Accessory sales exclude game cards





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