Video games now account for more than half of the UK entertainment market, according to preliminary data published by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). Today the ERA, the UK trade body for film, music and video game retail, has released its entertainment market revenues for 2018. The figures look at three sectors within the entertainment market: music, video and games.
The figures released by the ERA show that:
- the entertainment market has grown to an all-time high of £7.537 billion;
- the value of the UK gaming market has risen to £3.864 billion, accounting for 51.3 per cent of all UK entertainment revenues;
- the physical console and PC games market shrank by 2.8 per cent, while the digital games market grew by 12.5 per cent; and
- the value of the gaming market is now more than double what it was worth in 2007.
Dr Richard Wilson OBE, Chief Executive of TIGA, said:
“For the first time video games account for more than 50 per cent of the UK entertainment market. The figures released today show that we are a growing, popular and innovative industry that continues to produce highly successful titles. TIGA looks forward to building on our strong performance and ensuring that our industry continues to thrive.
“However, more can be done to support UK video games developers. To allow the sector to reach its full potential, TIGA wants to see the introduction of a Games Investment Fund. This would improve developers’ access to finance, encourage new intellectual property, and enable our games developers to win a larger share of the growing international market for video games.”
The ERA’s findings are available here.