US Consumers Spent $57.2 Billion on Gaming in 2023

It was revealed in a recent report that US spending on video games continues to skyrocket year-on-year. In a collaborative report published between the Entertainment Software Association and Circana, it was shown that US gaming consumers spent a staggering $57.2 billion on gaming through 2023. That’s incorporating everything a gamer could spend money on: hardware, software, downloadable content, subscriptions, and peripherals. There was a marked increase in digital-based spending across the board, too – which is further indicative of a transformation leading players away from physical software.

In the insightful breakdown provided by the ESA and Circana, the highest-grossing games in the United States in 2023 were also revealed. On PC and console, the best-selling title was Hogwarts Legacy, closely followed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which sat in its typical position near the top of the charts. On mobile platforms, MONOPOLY GO! and Candy Crush Saga sat at the head of the table, followed by Roblox and Royal Match.

Monumental Performance

There’s no slowing the US gaming market, which year-on-year continues to bloom. In 2023, consumers spent around $1 billion more on gaming than they did in 2022. The split marked by Circana was as follows:

$48 billion on ‘video game content’
$6.6 billion on hardware
$2.6 billion on peripherals and accessories

In a statement marking the success of the period, the Executive Director of Video Games at Circana, Mat Piscatella, said:

‘Great content is what drives the video game market, and 2023’s release slate was one of the best in industry history. While mobile, console and PC platforms remain the way most people engage with gaming today, new technologies are expanding the ways people can play. The future continues to be very bright.’

By new technologies, Piscatella is likely referring to the slew of AR and VR-based hardware and devices that continue to emerge over time.

The CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, Stanley Pierre-Louis, mirrored Piscatella’s sentiments:

‘These figures reinforce the position of the video game industry as a growth engine for the United States economy. When combined with the fact that nearly two-thirds of Americans play video games regularly, cutting across all demographics and backgrounds, these results confirm the video game industry’s impact as an economic and creative powerhouse with far-reaching cultural influence.’

It’s In The Numbers

It’s estimated that there are more than 3 billion gamers in the world today. Every year, growth in spending is being recorded on a global scale, even amid ongoing concerns about the stability of the industry in general. In recent years, the number of industry workers being laid off has risen sharply as development costs rise, timelines are stretched, and investors have started getting cold feet in places. It’s a similar sight for the esports industry – over time, viewership is increasing and it’s becoming more mainstream as a business, but there are persistent financial woes troubling the scene.

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