Weekly Gaming Reports Recap: January 15 - January 19 (2024)
data.ai; Circana; GSD released annual updates about worldwide mobile markets; PC/Console US & European ones.
Reports of this week:
data.ai: Mobile Gaming Market in 2023 (State of Mobile 2024)
GSD & GfK: Game sales on PC and consoles in the UK grew by 2.6% in 2023
Game sales Round-up (01.01.2024 - 16.01.2024)
GSD: The European gaming market (PC & consoles) slightly grew in December 2023
Sensor Tower: Mobile Publisher Ranking in South Korea in 2023
GSD: European PC and Console Market in 2023
PlayStation set an MAU record in December 2023
Circana: The US gaming market - December and 2023 Results
data.ai: Mobile Gaming Market in 2023 (State of Mobile 2024)
Overall Mobile Market state
In 2023, users spent $171 billion on mobile applications, which is 3% more than the previous year.
Apps were downloaded 257 billion times, a 1% increase compared to 2022.
Spending on mobile advertising reached $362 billion, an 8% increase from the previous year.
Users spent 5.1 trillion hours in mobile apps on Android alone, marking a 6% increase from the previous year.
State of the Mobile Gaming market
Revenue from mobile games in 2023 decreased by 2% to $107.3 billion.
The overall decline is strongly tied to a decrease in the Chinese market by $4.62 billion. Revenue in the U.S. remained stable, with a slight decrease in Japan. There was growth in the South Korean markets, Latin American markets, and several Western European countries (United Kingdom, France, Germany).
While it is common to talk about a crisis in the mobile market, it's important to consider a few things. Firstly, part of the revenue has shifted from mobile stores to alternative payment methods. Secondly, an increasing number of games are being released on the web and PC. Thirdly, the decline reported by data.ai is primarily due to the Chinese market, represented only by iOS within the scope of the data.ai research. This does not mean there are no challenges, but examples from miHoYo, Scopely, Century Games show that great results can be achieved.
Gaming Mobile Market - Downloads
Hyper-casual projects lead in downloads, accounting for 28% of the total volume. In 2023, 16.4 billion hyper-casual projects were downloaded, which is 7.5% less than the previous year. However, the genre saw a 52.9% growth in In-App Purchase (IAP) revenue (now contributing 0.5% of the total IAP market).
Simulators rank second with 10.5 billion downloads (18% of the total - a 0.7% increase from 2022). This category includes games like Roblox and My Talking Tom. Simulators account for 9.5% of the total IAP payments, a decrease of 5.3% from 2022.
Action games are in third place with 5.5 billion downloads (9% of the total - a 12.1% decrease from 2022). In terms of IAP payments, the genre declined by 10.3% in 2023, now representing 5.8% of the total IAP market with games like Subway Surfers.
Thief Puzzle, Attack Hole, and My Perfect Hotel were leaders in 2023 in their subgenres.
data.ai notes that in 2023, the number of new projects in the top 1000 by downloads was the lowest since 2019.
However, until 2020, the average download volume of new games exceeded that of existing projects. In 2021-2022, the situation changed, with older projects generating more downloads on average. But in 2023, the situation has reversed again, and new games are attracting installations.
While a more detailed view is necessary, the fact that new games, on average, are getting more downloads than old ones is a positive sign, indicating people are willing to try new products.
Party games (23.3% of top 3 downloads), shooters (15.8% of top 3 downloads), and sports games (15.8% of top 3 downloads) are the most challenging genres in terms of competition, if we consider only downloads. Interestingly, in all three genres, 65%+ of downloads are from users who installed games 2 or more years ago.
In 2023, RPGs (Team Battle) showed the strongest growth in downloads, thanks to Honkai: Star Rail (+191.98 million downloads).
Gaming Mobile Market - Revenue
RPG is the most profitable genre globally, bringing in $24.5 billion in 2023. It represents 30% of the entire IAP market, but it experienced a 3.8% decline from the previous year. However, in terms of downloads, the genre grew by 19.7%, accounting for 3% of the market share.
In 2023, strategies earned $10.7 billion, securing the second position. The genre accounts for 13% of the total IAP market, with a 11.7% decline in revenue in 2023. Nevertheless, in terms of downloads, the genre grew by 2.2%, holding a 2% market share.
Match projects secured the third position with $10.2 billion. The genre is growing in all aspects; IAP revenue increased by 16.3% (13% of the total volume), and downloads grew by 6.7% (5% of the total volume).
Evony, Lineage M, and Honkai: Star Rail were leaders in 2023 in their respective categories.
The number of new games entering the top 1000 by revenue in 2023 reached the minimum since 2019, with a slight decline compared to 2022 (and in some markets, no decline at all).
However, the average revenue of new projects compared to old ones shows growth in many markets - the U.S., Canada, the UK, South Korea. This indicates that new projects entering the top 1000 are approaching revenue figures of old projects with more content and active Live-ops.
In 2023, many high-earning projects were released, including Monopoly GO!, Whiteout Survival, Honkai: Star Rail, and more. Importantly, new games are managing to collect both audience and revenue. Comparing this with the download data provided by data.ai earlier, it can be concluded that users are ready for new projects.
The most challenging genres in terms of revenue competition are party-games (81% of revenue shared among the top 3), shooters (58.2% of money going to the top 3 products), and action games (53.1% for the top 3). In the latter two, more than 94% of users are "old" (installed games more than 2 years ago).
An interesting situation emerges. At the time of the release of Monopoly GO!, the party games genre was a "red ocean." Almost all revenue was accumulated by old projects. However, Scopely, through an excellent game, strong IP, and large budgets, entered a very competitive category and found success. The question is, in fact, complex. Many teams, when choosing a genre for a new project, are afraid to compete with "heavyweights" - and this risk is justified. But the graph above shows that in the mobile market, there are currently no genres without serious competition. Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to the expertise of the team and what they can, love, and want to do. I believe that quality products - in any niche - even the most crowded - have good chances.
The revenue growth leaders in 2023 were party-games (Luck Battle) with +$1.2 billion. Coin Master is the revenue leader in this segment, but the growth is attributed to Monopoly GO!. Match 3 also saw growth with +$1.1 billion (Royal Match being the largest game in the genre).
GSD & GfK: Game sales on PC and consoles in the UK grew by 2.6% in 2023
Analytical platforms report only the actual sales figures obtained directly from partners. The mobile segment is also not taken into account.
Game sales
38 million copies of games were sold in the UK in 2023. This is 2.6% more than in 2022.
EA Sports FC 24 surpassed Hogwarts Legacy and became the best-selling game of the year in the country. Its sales reached 2.39 million copies (8.4% less than FIFA 23 during the same period). Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 took the third place.
The physical copy of Hogwarts Legacy became the best-selling in the UK. Many people surely bought it as a gift (I bought it too).
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sales were 39% worse than the previous installment. Partially, this is due to Modern Warfare 2 being launched in October.
All three sales leaders had marketing agreements with PlayStation. More than half of the sales of all three games were on this platform.
The biggest new IP of the year (excluding EA Sports FC) is Starfield, ranking 31st on the chart. Last year it was Elden Ring.
Disney performed well in 2023. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is at the 6th position on the British chart; Star Wars Jedi: Survivor follows immediately.
We don't mention Baldur’s Gate III because Larian Games does not share sales information. But the game is definitely in the top 10.
Console and accessory sales
2.38 million consoles were sold in the UK in 2023. This is 9.4% more than the previous year.
PlayStation 5 sales soared by 55.2% compared to the previous year. This is the best year for PS on the market since 2014.
Interestingly, PS4 sales also grew by 633% compared to 2022.
Nintendo Switch is the second console in the UK. Its sales in 2023 decreased by 16.7%.
Xbox Series S|X is in third place. System sales fell by 14.2%.
Over 9 million accessories were sold in the UK in 2023. This is 4.5% less than the previous year.
Game sales Round-up (01.01.2024 - 16.01.2024)
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty has surpassed the 5 million copies mark. The main game has over 25 million sales.
Football Manager 2024 reached 6 million players in less than 2 months after launch. The previous game took 284 days for this achievement. However, the new installment is available on Apple Arcade, Netflix, and Xbox Game Pass.
Dave the Diver has sold over 3 million copies. The developers are currently working on versions of the game for PlayStation and Xbox.
Worldwide sales of Monster Hunter: World has reached 23 million copies. In 2021, the game had 17.1 million copies.
According to Simon Carless, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader earned $12.6 million in December only on Steam. The game is also available on the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.
Deep Rock Galactic has been purchased over 8 million times since 2018. 2.5 million sales were in 2023. DAU (Daily Active Users) is around 150 thousand; MAU (Monthly Active Users) is around a million. These figures are for the year.
House Flipper 2 recouped development costs in 72 hours. The game sold 131 thousand copies, generating $4.3 million in Gross. Developers will receive approximately $2.6 million, considering a 4% refund rate. $2 million was spent on development, and an additional $330 thousand on marketing. At the time of release, the game had 850 thousand wishlists.
GSD: The European gaming market (PC & consoles) slightly grew in December 2023
GSD reports only the actual sales figures obtained directly from partners. Large publishers, such as Nintendo, do not share sales information for digital copies. The mobile segment is also not taken into account.
Game sales
26.6 million games for PC and consoles were sold in December in Europe. Sales increased by 3.6% compared to the previous year.
EA Sports FC 24 - with a significant lead, it was the best-selling game in Europe in December. However, the sales of the project were 11.5% worse than those of FIFA 23. However, last year, during this period, the FIFA World Cup took place - and this affected the sales.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III - ranked second in sales. In third place is Hogwarts Legacy.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora started from the 6th position. Its sales are half of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, released in October. Considering the production cost, the project's success depends on its performance in the long term.
Console and Accessory sales
1.27 million consoles were sold in Europe (excluding Germany). This is 16% more than the previous year.
PlayStation 5 sales increased by 66% compared to the previous year. Sony's console is a confident leader in sales.
Nintendo Switch is in second place with a 7% decline from the previous year; Xbox Series S|X is in third place with a 19% decline.
3.5 million accessories were sold in December in Europe. This is 11% more than in December 2022.
Sensor Tower: Mobile Publisher Ranking in South Korea in 2023
Download Ranking
Azur Interactive Games, NEXON, Supersonic Studios - the top three publishers by downloads in South Korea.
Half of the publishers in the top 10 focuses on hyper-casual and hybrid-casual games.
In 2022, there was only one Korean publisher in the download ranking - NEXON. In 2023, Com2uS and MOBIRIX joined them.
NEXON showed significant growth in 2023, rising from 8th place in 2022 to 2nd in 2023. FC Mobile and Cart Rider: Drift made the difference.
Revenue Ranking
NCSOFT, Kakao Games, and NEXON - leaders in revenue in the South Korean market with a significant lead.
NCSOFT, thanks to Lineage, has held the first position since 2018.
The success of Night Crows allowed Wemade to rise from 25th place in 2022 to 5th in 2023. The game will launch in the West in 2024 and will support Web3 elements.
Lineage M; Odin: Valhalla Rising; Night Crows; Lineage W; and Lineage 2M - the top 5 mobile games by revenue in South Korea.
Overseas Publishers in South Korea
Four non-South Korean publishers made it to the top 10 by revenue in the country - miHoYo, 37GAMES, Century Games, and Tencent.
The share of foreign publishers in the top 10 by revenue in 2023 increased to 20% - the highest since 2019.
Moreover, considering the growth dynamics, 8 out of the top 10 are foreign publishers. It can be assumed that if this trend continues, they will continue to capture a share of the South Korean market.
GSD: European PC and Console Market in 2023
GSD reports only on the actual sales figures obtained directly from partners. The mobile segment is not taken into account.
Game sales
182 million games for PC and consoles were sold in Europe in 2023. This is 1.7% more than the previous year.
EA Sports FC 24 - the sales leader in Europe in 2023. The number of copies sold for the project dropped by 9% compared to FIFA 23 (by the way, the third in sales in 2023); but this is explained by the World Cup held at the end of 2022.
Hogwarts Legacy - second in sales in Europe. If you exclude the EA football simulator series, Hogwarts Legacy has sold the most copies in a calendar year since 2017.
For the first time in a long time, Call of Duty did not make it to the top 3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III ended the year in fourth place, with sales of the new part in Europe being 32% worse than Modern Warfare II.
GTA V continues to sell well, with sales figures in 2023 only 1% lower than last year - the game is in fifth place. Red Dead Redemption II showed a 19% growth by 2022 (8th place).
34% of all games sold in 2023 were new releases. In 2022, this figure was 35%.
In terms of platforms, most games were sold on PC; followed by PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series S|X.
The largest European markets are the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.
Hardware sales
7.4 million consoles were sold in Europe in 2023 (excluding Germany). This is 42% more than in 2022.
The main reason for the growth is PlayStation 5, with system sales growing by 177% compared to the previous year. It far outpaces competitors.
Nintendo Switch sales fell by 10%, making it the second-highest-selling console. Sales of Xbox Series S|X fell by 18% compared to 2022.
PlayStation 4 sales in 2023 increased by 671%.
20.5 million accessories were sold in Europe in 2023 - a 9% increase—DualSense - the accessory of the year in sales.
PlayStation set an MAU record in December 2023
The number of MAUs on PlayStation platforms reached 123 million users. The company announced this at CES 2024.
Earlier, PlayStation reported 107 million MAU in September 2023. At that time, they also noted that PS5 owners had higher engagement, constituting just over 40% of the stated quantity.
Sony also surpassed the milestone of 50 million PlayStation 5 units sold. The company's goal is to sell 25 million consoles within this fiscal year.
Circana: The US gaming market - December and 2023 Results
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
The results for 2023 turned out to be below expectations, as Circana was anticipating a 3% growth.
Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, GTA, and Call of Duty dominate the gaming market in the USA in terms of audience and engagement.
The concept of "average success" is disappearing. New games are either hits or disappointments.