Circana: US video game spending hit $4.6 billion in March, with engagement returning to pre-pandemic levels
New month, new data on the US video game market from Circana (formerly the NPD Group). Here are the best-selling games and consoles of March 2023.
Key takeaways
- According to Circana executive director Mat Piscatella, US consumers spent $4.63 billion on video game content last month. This is down 5% year-over-year.
- Video game spending reached $3.82 billion, down 7% year-over-year. This is due to lower sales of premium games, add-on content on PC, and decreased spending on mobile.
March 2023 US Video Game Market Thread from Circana – Consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories totaled $4.6B, a 5% decline when compared to a year ago. Year-to-date consumer spending fell 1% when compared to the same period in 2022, to $13.6B. pic.twitter.com/eJsI4BDQAL
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) April 19, 2023
- Hardware sales amounted to $566 million, up 10% compared to the same period in 2021. “This is the second highest video game hardware spend for a March month in U.S. history, trailing only the $680 million reached in March 2021,” Piscatella noted.
- The growth in the hardware segment was largely driven by the PlayStation 5, which became the top console both in terms of units sold and dollar sales. PS5 sales have now surpassed those of PS4 during the same period since launch.
- Piscatella also noted that while engagement is returning to pre-pandemic levels, “spending is holding significantly above.”
A few US VG market takes:
– PS5 driving console market
– Big new games selling very well, just not enough of them
– Subscription spend growth is slowing
– Market is stabilizing, expect mostly YoY single-digit % changes going forward
– Engagement returning to pre-pandemic levels— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) April 19, 2023
Best-selling video games of March 2023
- The Resident Evil 4 remake was the best-selling premium game last month. It is now also the third highest-grossing title year-to-date, trailing only Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Hogwarts Legacy.
- MLB: The Show 23 and WWE 2K23 were the only other new games on the charts, ranking as the 3rd and 7th best-selling titles last month respectively.
March 2023 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games (Dollar Sales, Excludes add-on content) pic.twitter.com/mlZJNaeArw
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) April 19, 2023
- According to the data provided by Sensor Tower, the highest-grossing mobile titles in the US were Candy Crush Saga, Roblox, Royal Match, Coin Master, Pokémon GO, Township, Gardenscapes, Bingo Blitz, Evony, and Homescapes.
- Analyst Dennis Yeh noted that mobile casual titles had their best month since March 2021, “even surpassing holiday performance.”
