Circana: The US gaming market - December and 2023 Results

The US market in 2023 showed a slight increase; big games are getting user attention; subscriptions are about 10% of the content spent.

Market Overview

• The American gaming market, as of December 2023, grew by 4% and reached $7.9 billion compared to December 2022.

• The total volume of the American gaming market in 2023 amounted to $57.2 billion, which is 1% more than in 2022.

• In 2023, users in the USA spent $6.6 billion on gaming hardware, the same amount as in 2022. The sales growth of PlayStation 5 offset the decline of Xbox Series S|X and Nintendo Switch.

• PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console in 2023 in terms of both the number of systems sold and revenue.

• The growth of subscriptions for consoles and PC in the USA almost came to a halt. In 2023, subscriptions accounted for approximately 10% of the total content spending. Matt Piscatella (Video Game Industry Analyst & Executive Director at Circana) does not believe that subscriptions cannibalize game sales.

• Hogwarts Legacy, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Madden NFL 24 were the top-selling games in the USA in 2023.

• Accessory sales in the USA in 2023 amounted to $2.6 billion, 4% more than the previous year. Gamepad sales increased by 7%, with PS5 being the accessory of the year.

Game Sales - December 2023

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Madden NFL 24 were the top-selling games in December.

• Hogwarts Legacy became the leader in the USA in terms of sales in dollar equivalent, the first non-Call of Duty and non-Rockstar game to achieve this since 2008. The game was the top-selling on PlayStation, second on Xbox, and fifth on Nintendo Switch in terms of sales.

• MONOPOLY GO!, Royal Match, and Roblox led the American mobile market in revenue. Clash of Clans also entered the top 10, rising 9 positions.

• The American mobile gaming market grew by 2.7% in December 2023 compared to December 2022.

Engagement - December 2023

• Fortnite, Call of Duty (all parts), and Grand Theft Auto V led on PlayStation in terms of Monthly Active Users (MAU). Roblox was in fourth place. Xbox had an identical situation in the top four positions.

• In December, 36% of active users on PlayStation and 31% on Xbox played Fortnite. In November, these figures were 31% on PlayStation and 28% on Xbox.

• Including games in subscriptions helped PowerWash Simulator rise from 318th place by MAU in November to 9th place in December on PlayStation. Goat Simulator on Xbox jumped from 245th position to 7th by MAU in the USA.

• Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III were the top-selling games in 2023 on PlayStation.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Hogwarts Legacy, and Madden NFL 24 were the top-selling games in the USA in 2023 on Xbox.

• Lethal Company, The Finals, and Counter-Strike 2 were the most popular games by MAU in the USA in December on Steam. Baldur’s Gate III was fourth, and Ready or Not significantly rose to fifth place in December.

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Mario Kart 8 were the sales leaders in the USA on Nintendo Switch in 2023.

• Interestingly, in the top 20 for Nintendo Switch, only 2 games were not from Nintendo. These were Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros.) and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.

Hardware Sales

• In December, gaming hardware sales in the USA amounted to $1.6 billion, 4% more than in 2022.

• PlayStation 5 became the best-selling system of the month in the USA. Sony set a new sales record for a single month, with the previous record dated back to December 2022.

• Xbox Series S|X also set a sales record in the USA, with the previous one occurring in December 2021.

• PlayStation Portal was fifth in sales in the USA in December. Matt Piscatella noted that the console was sold out almost everywhere throughout the fourth quarter, but the sales volume is not considered significant.

• In December 2023, accessory sales amounted to $584 million, 14% more than in December 2022.

A few comments on the year-end results by Mat Piscatella

1. The results for 2023 turned out to be below expectations, as Circana was anticipating a 3% growth.

2. Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, GTA, and Call of Duty dominate the gaming market in the USA in terms of audience and engagement.

3. The concept of "average success" is disappearing. New games are either hits or disappointments.

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