UK Gaming Market was recession-resistant in 2022
A great overview of UK market dynamics in 2022 compared to 2021.
The material for Gamesindustry.biz was prepared by Sam Naji, the consultant at Sparkers.
New releases in 2022 were selling better than in 2021
Comparison of boxed games sales from the top 10 shows that in 2022 hit games were sold 31% better than in 2021.
Digital sales of games from the top-10 in 2022 were 52% higher than in 2021.
Overall sales of new games in 2022 were 16% better than in 2021.
Old games sales in 2022 went down
The overall number of game sales in 2022 declined. Boxed versions dropped by 10%, digital versions were 2% down compared to 2021.
It’s important to find reasons why it’s happened. The COVID-19 pandemic increased back-catalog sales in 2020 compared to 2019.
The overall decline in sales is connected with the decline in back-catalog sales. 19.7M copies were sold in 2022 - it’s 14% lower than in 2021, but 15% more than in pre-pandemic 2019.
Black Friday sales
Game sales during Black Friday in 2022 were down by 3% compared to 2021.
Sam Naji connecting it not with a demand slowdown, but with fewer releases in 2022 and an even larger switch to the GAAS models.