Video game hardware sales were down 25% year-over-year at the end of 2024, according to industry-tracking firm Circana. Video game content spending in general was up compared with the previous year, but hardware sales — along with almost all other sales, save for accessories — were down in December. Only one December game charted on the best-selling games list, that being MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
December 2024 Dollar Sales, MillionDec2023Dec2024ChangeTotal Video Game Sales (Projected to Total Market)$8,282$7,543-9%Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR platforms)$6,054$5,761-5%Video Game Hardware$1,555$1,112-29%Video Game Accessories$673$6710%*Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower
Most of the losses, both for December and for the year overall appear to be from declining console sales, which have been dwindling steadily all year. Mat Piscatella, Circana’s Circana’s executive producer for games reports said in the report, “Spending on PlayStation 5 hardware fell 18% when compared to December 2023, with Xbox Series and Switch each declining by 38%. Annual spending on video game hardware finished 25% lower than 2023, at $4.9 billion.”
That said, spending on actual game content for 2024 was up 2% YoY, and was “the 2nd highest total for video game content spending in U.S. history, trailing only 2021’s $52.0 billion,” says Piscatella. Spending on console content dropped 11%, but the growth in mobile, PC, cloud, VR and subscription content offset this. Piscatella also added in a post on Bluesky, “But [the decline] was expected with Switch being in market for so long and both PS5/XBS past their selling peaks.”
2024 Dollar Sales, Millions2023Year2024YearChangeTotal Video Game Sales (Projected to Total Market)$59,294$58,659-1%Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR platforms)$49,850$50,6392%Video Game Hardware$6,453$4,854-25%Video Game Accessories$2,992$3,1666%*Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower
Accessories spending similarly saw 6% growth in 2024, despite the generally lukewarm hardware market and sales being overall flat …