The UK games market’s value has been superseded by video content, losing its status as the biggest entertainment sector for the first time in over a decade. Even so, UK sales in games continued to grow by 2.9% last year, reaching £4.74 billion.
According to Entertainment and Retail Association ERA’s latest findings, the overall value of the UK’s entertainment sector was £11.9 billion in 2023, rising 7% and marking 11 consecutive years of growth. £4.92 billion of that is attributable to video, eking ahead of gaming by approximately £180 million.
A digital lead
Physical game sales fell by 4.4% in 2023, down to only £495 million. It was digital sales that supported small growth, therefore, up 3.8% to £4.09 billion, and balancing out at a 2.9% increase overall. Physical sales in video were down too, by 18.8% in retail and 43.7% in rental, while digital sales grew by 11.6%, meanwhile.
This left music as the only sector to grow in physical sales in 2023, up 10.9% while streams rose 9.8%.
Within the video category, streaming and digital services underwent the biggest growth in…
