Digital Games Made Up Nearly 90% of All Gaming Sales in 2022
In a recent report by the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA), it was revealed that 89.5% of all videogames sold in 2022 were digital- meaning only 10.5% were physical sales. Its worth noting that the games covered in this data were new- meaning pre-owned sales did not count towards this statistic. If this was the case, the scales would be a little bit more even, of course. Disregarding this, however, this is still quite a shocking revelation. But why have such a huge number of gamers opted to go fully digital with their game purchases? Well, this mostly comes down to the specific games that were most popular last year.
The most sold video games of 2022 had some repeat offenders. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and FIFA 23 topped the sales charts in the UK- and looking at these three games alone gives some insight into why so many games were purchased digitally. Simply put, these games are far more casual than other releases such as Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarök. While it is true that those two sold well, its nothing compared to the gargantuan successes of FIFA and Call of Duty each year-regardless of quality. As they are so popular and accessible, it makes sense that fans of the series would gravitate to the easiest form of purchase: on a digital marketplace. By simply clicking a few buttons, you're saved the hassle of having to leave the house to pick up a physical game copy just to have to wait for it to download once you get home. In fact, now, you can even pre-download most games so that they're ready to play as soon as the clock chimes midnight. For casual fans (and a growing amount of more seasoned gamers), the choice between digital and physical becoming an easier one each year.
With online market fronts like Steam and the PlayStation Store becoming faster and more convenient to use, the idea of having to wait for a game to be delivered or going to pick one up is becoming quite old-fashioned. With video games now being the leading force in the entertainment market (beating out those of film, television, and music with a £4.7 billion in reported sales), more and more casual gamers are latching on to the medium. This is especially evident considering 30% of gaming sales came from mobile alone- which means that nearly a third of video game revenue came from microtransactions in dodgy candy crush clones. That's certainly some food (or sweets) for thought.
In 2023, its likely that this figure will only continue to rise. With more players migrating over to a fully digital library, this doesn't leave physical games stores in a great spot. With stores like Game UK having to downsize by moving stores into Sports Direct of all places, and others shifting to entirely online sales through their website, the list of places to go pick up a physical video game is getting shorter and shorter. Digital media is huge. It has already taken over television, music and movies- and videogames are just inches away from being absorbed into its dominance.
