UK games market hits a record £4.19bn

2015 was the biggest year in UK games industry history.

Almost 4.2bn was spent on video games and related products in last year, topping the 4bn generated in 2008 when Wii and Guitar Hero ruled the market.

The primary reason for the growth is the digital sector. According to IHS, digital console and PC games generated 1.2bn, up 13.2 per cent, while mobile gaming also spiked 21.2 per cent to 664m.

But there were other key growth areas, namely accessories, tickets for events, soundtracks, DVDs and pre-owned game sales. MCV has also obtained data for PC gaming hardware for the first time, which added 138m to the figure (courtesy of GfK’s tech division). Even without PC gaming hardware included, the UK games market is still at an all-time high.

Not all areas grew however. A drop in Minecraft book sales impacted the ‘books and magazine’ section, while toys also took a knock as Moshi Monsters continues to wane in popularity. Boxed software also suffered a slight dip, while price cuts to Xbox One and PS4 saw hardware revenue decrease sharply.

Overall, the UK games industry rose by 5.3 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014. This is slower growth than what was recorded last year, when the market value increased by 13 per cent.

The market valuation project was co-produced by MCV and games industry trade body UKIE.

These numbers show the increasing strength and confident consumer growth of the industry,” UKIE CEO Dr Jo Twist said.

These kinds of statistics are important when we are promoting the strength of our sector nationally – to investors, the media and policy makers – as well as internationally.”