Video game sales in the UK remain strong in 2021, according to the latest figures from GfK and Omdia released by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) on Thursday. UK physical and digital games sold over £4.29 billion last year, and unsurprisingly, FIFA 22 was the most popular game in the UK overall last year, with more than 2.2 million copies sold (including 1.3 million digital copies) Version).
ERA CEO Kim Bayley said the UK gaming market is more than double the size it was 10 years ago, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8%, which is extraordinary by any measure, and that the strong growth in mobile games have only will benefit the market in the long run.
The data also showed that overall game sales in the UK fell by more than 3.3% year-on-year, which ERA attributed to shortages of Xbox Series X/S and PS5 since launch. Despite a slight dip in 2021, Kim Bayley expressed confidence that the gaming business will continue to prosper.
Despite the popularity of FIFA 22, the top-grossing game genre is mobile. Mobile game sales in the UK will exceed £1.5 billion in 2021, up 8.1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, digital game sales in the UK fell 8.3%, while physical console sales fell 20.4%. With overall game sales in the UK declining year on year, the mobile game market is a standout.