UK video game sales experience a decline of nearly 30% in the first half of 2024

In the first six months of 2024, sales of video games in the UK saw a sharp decline of almost 30 percent.

The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), representing digital services and retailers in the UK, reports an increase in music sales by 7.9 percent year-on-year (YoY). In contrast, video saw a modest rise of 5.4 percent while video games faced a notable 29.4 percent drop YoY.

Despite this significant decline, video games still generated a substantial revenue of £348.6 million.

The ERA noted that physical game software sales plummeted by 40 percent to £111.7 million, and digital download sales decreased by 23 percent to £236.9 million, attributing this to a weak new release schedule.

Music revenue, which totaled £163.8 million, includes sales from vinyl, CDs, and downloads, but does not account for earnings from streaming platforms such as Spotify, which itself saw a 11 percent YoY increase.

The video sector earned £213.7 million, despite a 4.7 percent reduction in DVD and Blu-ray sales, and this figure excludes revenue from video streaming services like Netflix.

"This success in music is largely due to the influence of Taylor Swift and Record Store Day," stated Kim Bayley, CEO of ERA.

"Their impact on vinyl was evident back in April, but their contribution seems to have positively affected the entire market as well."

"The first half of the year was challenging for the gaming industry due to a lack of major releases, but there is optimism for the second half, typically a period for big blockbuster launches," Bayley added.