Weekly Gaming Reports Recap: October 23 - October 27 (2023)
Weekly Gaming Reports Recap: October 23 - October 27 (2023)
The US & UK markets are growing while Europe is declining; Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is the best-selling Sony exclusive at launch; 6 largest Southeast Asia markets will reach $5.8B in 2023.
Reports of this week:
Circana: The US gaming market grew by 10% in September
GSD: Console and PC game sales in Europe declined in September
GSD & GfK: Console sales in the UK jumped by 44% in September
ESA: Games help cope with stress; socialize; become better
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 sold 2.5 million copies on the first day
Niko Partners: The 6 largest gaming markets in Southeast Asia will reach $5.8 billion in 2023
Newzoo: Top 10 Games by MAU on PC and Consoles in September 2023
Farm Heroes Saga has earned over $1 billion
Newzoo: Starfield ranks third in MAU on PC among all RPGs in September
Tinuiti: A Gamer's Portrait in 2023
TikTok & Newzoo: Promoting games on PC and Consoles in 2023
Apptopia: Less than 1% of Netflix's monthly audience plays their games
Sensor Tower: Pixel Hero is the leader in the Korean mobile market by downloads
Circana: The US gaming market grew by 10% in September
The gaming industry in the USA was growing last month. Sales have increased by 10% compared to the previous year, reaching $4.5 billion.
As of September 2023, the gaming industry in the USA is showing a 2% growth compared to the previous year. The total industry volume for the first 9 months is $39.4 billion.
Games sales have increased by 2% over the year, hardware sales by 10%, and accessory sales by 1%.
Games
Sales of gaming content grew by 13% in September 2023, reaching $3.8 billion. Most of the growth is attributed to the sales of PC and console games. Subscription revenue has dropped by 2%. The mobile market has grown by 4%.
Starfield is the best-selling game of the month in the USA, despite its availability in Game Pass. It also ranks 7th in sales for the entire year.
Mortal Kombat 1, EA Sports FC 24, Madden NFL 24, and Payday 3 are on positions from 2 to 5 on the September chart.
Monopoly GO!, Royal Match, Roblox are the leaders in the American mobile market in terms of revenue. The top 10 mobile games in September are the same as in August.
Hardware and Accessories
Sales of gaming hardware dropped by 8% to $451 million.
The slight increase in sales of Xbox Series S|X couldn't compensate for the decline in PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch sales.
Despite the sales decline, PS5 remains the best-selling platform in the USA both in terms of revenue and the number of units sold. Currently, its sales in the USA are 10% better than in the same period last year.
Accessory sales grew by 11% in September, reaching $197 million. The limited edition DualSense with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the sales leader.
GSD: Console and PC game sales in Europe declined in September
GSD reports only the actual sales figures obtained directly from partners. Some major publishers, for example, Nintendo, do not share information on the sales of digital copies.
Games
Game sales in September 2023 turned out to be 16% lower than the previous year. There is an explanation for this - in September 2022, there were 5 counted weeks in the month, while in September 2023, there were 4 weeks. If we look at week-to-week sales, the decline in September 2023 is around 1%.
The launch of EA Sports FC 24 in Europe in the first month was 10% worse compared to FIFA 23. Sales were also 3.7% worse than FIFA 22.
Nevertheless, EA Sports FC 24 is the best-selling game in Europe and the United Kingdom in September.
Starfield is the second best-selling game in Europe. Sales of the main Xbox exclusive of the year are 13% lower than Forza Horizon 5.
NBA 2K24 performed below expectations. Sales of the new basketball simulator are 17% lower than the previous installment.
The Crew Motorfest had a successful start (4th place in the chart) - 6.5% better in European sales than The Crew 2.
Finally, sales of Mortal Kombat 1 - a reboot of the series - were 39% worse in terms of European sales for the first 3 weeks compared to Mortal Kombat 11.
Hardware and Accessories
Console sales in Europe (excluding Germany and the UK) grew by 38% in September 2023, reaching 416 thousand systems.
The growth is attributed to PlayStation 5. Console sales in September 2023 are 175% higher than in September 2022.
European sales of Nintendo Switch dropped by 28% compared to the previous year.
The release of Starfield did not help Xbox Series S|X sales. They declined by 35% compared to the previous year.
1.1 million accessories were sold in Europe in September 2023. The best-selling accessory is DualSense.
GSD & GfK: Console sales in the UK jumped by 44% in September
GSD reports only the actual sales figures obtained directly from partners. Some publishers, for example, Nintendo, do not share information on the sales of digital copies.
Games
3.5 million games were sold in the UK in September 2023. This is 1% more than the previous year.
EA Sports FC 24 debuted in the top spot. Game sales in the UK, after the name change, were 8% lower than FIFA 23.
In the second spot is Starfield. Game sales were worse than Forza Horizon 5, but the racing simulator was available on Xbox One.
In the third spot, you have Mortal Kombat 1. Sales of the reboot in the first three weeks were 24% worse than Mortal Kombat 11.
The Crew Motorfest started on the British market 30% worse than The Crew 2. In Europe, the situation is the opposite; the game sold better (by 6%).
Hardware and Accessories
Console sales in the UK grew by 44% in September compared to the previous year.
Xbox Series S|X sales increased by 136% compared to the previous month. The console took the second spot in sales after PlayStation 5.
PS5 sales also increased by 24%.
663.2 thousand accessories were sold in the UK in September 2023. This is 11.6% less than in the previous year. The White DualSense controller is the sales leader.
ESA: Games help cope with stress; socialize; become better
The results are based on a survey of 12,847 active gamers from different countries worldwide.
69% of people play games for enjoyment; 63% to "kill" time; 58% to combat stress and relax.
71% of people find that games help them cope with stress; 61% with anxiety. Additionally, 55% of respondents noted that games help them feel less lonely.
64% of people believe that games help them deal with daily challenges; 63% feel happier because of games. 52% say games have helped them overcome difficult moments in life.
Players believe that games develop positive qualities - creativity (73%), problem-solving skills (69%), and cognitive abilities (69%).
26% of people play games with others online daily (and 51% do so weekly). Offline, 15% do this daily (and 38% do so weekly).
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 sold 2.5 million copies on the first day
This is the fastest-selling game in the history of PlayStation studios.
The first part of Marvel's Spider-Man sold 3.3 million copies in the first 3 days. God of War Ragnarok sold 5 million copies in 5 days.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is one of the best games of this year. The average score of the game on Metacritic is 91.
Niko Partners: The 6 largest gaming markets in Southeast Asia will reach $5.8 billion in 2023
Niko Partners considers Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam as the primary markets in Southeast Asia. The company refers to them as SEA-6.
Revenue
In 2023, the market size of these countries will reach $5.8 billion. By 2027, it will grow to $7.2 billion. Niko Partners' analysts predict an average annual growth rate of 5.4%.
Currently, Indonesia and Thailand account for 46% of the total revenue in these countries.
In 2023, the size of the Indonesian gaming market increased by 9.9% compared to the previous year. In Singapore, during the same period, growth was 8.2%. These are the fastest-growing major markets in Southeast Asia.
In 2023, 66.4% of the total revenue in SEA-6 countries will come from mobile devices. By 2027, the share of mobile revenue will increase to 70%.
Audience
The number of players in SEA-6 countries in 2023 will reach 288.5 million. By 2027, this number will increase to 344 million. The average annual growth rate is 3.6%.
Indonesia and Vietnam have the largest player populations. These two countries account for 63% of the entire gaming audience in SEA-6 countries.
Further Growth Drivers
Esports. The SEA-6 countries competed for medals at the 19th Asian Games in China, where esports disciplines were added. Thailand and Malaysia won the most medals in esports.
Government support.
The investment attractiveness of the region.
Newzoo: Top 10 Games by MAU on PC and Consoles in September 2023
PC
Counter-Strike 2 took the top spot in terms of MAU on PC. Players are frustrated with bugs, network code issues, and the lack of Mac OS support, but they continue to play.
Minecraft dropped to the second position, while Fortnite moved to the third.
Cyberpunk 2077 soared 14 places (to 6th place) thanks to the release of Phantom Liberty and the 2.0 update. The developers themselves say that this is now the game that CDPR originally intended to create.
Consoles
Fortnite, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and GTA V are the leaders on the console MAU chart.
In September, NBA 2K24 and EA Sports FC 24 entered the charts. It's surprising that the basketball simulator outperformed the football one in terms of MAU. However, NBA 2K24 was released at the beginning of the month, while EA Sports FC 24 was released at the very end.
Farm Heroes Saga has earned over $1 billion
King claims that Farm Heroes Saga is the first mobile game developed in the United Kingdom to surpass the $1 billion revenue mark.
In 2022, the number of players in the project exceeded 50 million.
Currently, the Monthly Active Users (MAU) of all King's games are over 200 million.
Newzoo: Starfield ranks third in MAU on PC among all RPGs in September
In September 2023, 7.4% of the entire gaming audience on PC and consoles played Starfield. For comparison, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim had 0.8%.
Starfield is the third game in terms of MAU among RPGs on PC and the first in this regard on consoles.
The game has the most overlap in the audience with players who bought Cyberpunk 2077 (45.2%), Red Dead Redemption 2 (40.9%), and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 / Warzone (35.5%).
The key markets in terms of MAU are the United States and the United Kingdom.
Starfield ranked 4th in revenue in the United States and the United Kingdom on PC and consoles.
In September, Starfield was in 2nd place in terms of views among all RPGs, with a total of 38.6 million hours of viewing.
The average player's time in Starfield is 29.8 hours, ranking 20th among all RPGs.
Tinuiti: A Gamer's Portrait in 2023
To create this report, 1000 gamers were surveyed. The location of the study is not disclosed.
42% of the audience plays games to relax, while 34% do it for enjoyment.
Interestingly, only half of the users behave in games the same way they do in real life. Approximately half of the respondents noted that they behave differently in games - feeling more competitive, confident, curious, and ambitious. There was also a small percentage of those who felt less confident in games.
78% of those surveyed played on mobile devices in the last month; 48% on PC; 36% on PlayStation; 25% on Xbox; and 24% on Nintendo Switch. The younger the generation, the higher the share of PC and consoles.
However, for 44% of users, mobile devices are the primary gaming device. For 21%, it's PC; for 16%, PlayStation; for 10%, Xbox; for 6%, Nintendo Switch.
31% of those surveyed stated that they had never made in-game purchases.
86% of console gamers made in-game payments. Among mobile gamers, only 58% did.
17% of the audience watches streams on a daily basis; another 17% at least once a week. 44% do not watch.
Among millennials and Generation Z representatives, streams are more popular than among Generation X and Baby Boomers.
11% of players watch esports competitions daily; 14% do so at least once a week. 48% are not interested in esports.
YouTube (54%); Facebook (35%); and gaming websites (28%) are the main sources of news for the audience.
Meanwhile, Discord is rapidly gaining popularity as a news source, especially for Generation Z.
TikTok & Newzoo: Promoting games on PC and Consoles in 2023
Market
$95.2 billion - projected revenue for the PC and console segments in 2023.
Worldwide, according to Newzoo's estimates, there are 892 million PC gamers and 629 million console players.
In 2022, 7 out of the top 20 games by MAU were released after 2020. 5 of them were franchise games, such as FIFA or Call of Duty.
18 out of the top 20 MAU games were released before 2022.
6 of the top 20 games are from the Call of Duty series. Newzoo combined Modern Warfare and Warzone, as well as Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0.
Hogwarts Legacy is the only 2023 release that made it into the top 20 by MAU in 2023. The period considered was from January to May.
The number of game releases on Steam is increasing (in 2022, 12,690 games were released), but the number of games that break into an audience of 50,000 players is decreasing both on PC and consoles.
Audience
The gaming audience is growing among Generation Z (+10% by 2023) and Baby Boomers (+3% by 2023). The number of gamers among Generation X has decreased (-4%).
PC and console games remain popular among representatives of all generations.
For Generation Z and Millennials, games are more than just entertainment. They discuss them with friends and family, read news, and listen to podcasts.
Payments
41% of Baby Boomers make payments in games. Average monthly spending on PC is $9.96; on consoles, it's $18.28.
Among Generation X, 61% make payments. Average monthly spending on PC is $13.94; on consoles, it's $20.16.
Three-quarters of Millennials make payments in games. Average monthly spending on PC is $16.65; on consoles, it's $20.4.
72% of Generation Z representatives make payments in games. Average monthly spending on PC is $17.1; on consoles, it's $19.16.
How to Promote Games in the Modern Market
Use IP in development. Examples: Hogwarts Legacy; Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Develop existing IP and launch projects in new media. Examples: Castlevania anime; The Last of Us series.
Create cross-franchise collaborations. Examples: Dead by Daylight; Mortal Kombat 1.
Don't forget about the old IP. Examples: Mega Man Legacy Collection; Resident Evil 4 Remake; Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Collaborate with bloggers and content creators. Examples: Dead Island 2, The Sims 4.
Collaborate with brands outside the entertainment industry. Examples: Nintendo & Oreo; Animal Crossing & ColourPop Cosmetics.
Apptopia: Less than 1% of Netflix's monthly audience plays their games
According to Apptopia estimates, in September, 2.2 million people played Netflix games. Currently, Netflix's audience consists of 247.15 million users.
As of September 2023, Netflix games were downloaded over 70.5 million times.
The peak of the Netflix game audience was in January 2023, with 2.7 million Monthly Active Users (MAU). The lowest figures for 2023 were observed in March and July, with 1.45 million MAU.
The number of games on the platform has grown from 24 to 77 in the last year.
According to Netflix management's statements, they will not stop trying to succeed in the gaming market.
Sensor Tower: Pixel Hero is the leader in the Korean mobile market by downloads
Since its release in June of this year, the Idle RPG has earned $85 million and has been downloaded more than 6 million times.
Japan accounts for 32% of the total revenue; South Korea - 29.4%; Taiwan - 18.1%; China - 7.8% (excluding Android stores).
When it comes to downloads, South Korea leads (43.3% of all downloads - 2.6 million); Japan (29.9%); China (13.6%) and Taiwan (6.5%).
Despite the fact that Pixel Hero was released in June, the game has already become the most downloaded game in South Korea in 2023. It has managed to surpass, for example, Royal Match.
In addition, Pixel Hero is the only Idle RPG in the top 10 in terms of revenue in South Korea.
Korean users like the nostalgic style of the game, cute characters, and the absence of aggressive monetization. Effective user acquisition (UA) has also contributed to the project's growth - in September, 55% of all installations were driven by paid traffic.
The success of Pixel Hero has helped the publisher Ujoy Games rise from 84th place to 13th in terms of revenue in the South Korean market. In terms of downloads, the growth is even more significant - from the 90th position to the 2nd.