U.S. video games sales had strong year in 2023

The United States gaming market rebounded in 2023, recovering 1% from the previous year’s 5% decline in spending. In total, $57.2 billion was spent on gaming, with the largest portion coming from software, add-ons, and subscriptions, totaling 48 billion. Accessories also increased by 4% to a total of $2.6 billion. Hardware sales dropped very slightly to $6.59 billion.

A surprising result from the year’s best-selling games is Hogwarts Legacy claiming the top spot. This is the first time since 2008 that Call of Duty or a Rockstar-developed game has not been in the top spot.

On the hardware front for the full year, the PlayStation 5 console emerged as the best-selling platform both in terms of units and dollars, while the Xbox Series X|S and Switch experienced a decline in their dollar sales.

Accessories witnessed the most substantial growth in 2023, attributed to a 7% increase in gamepad sales, with the PS5 DualSense Edge being the highest-selling accessory in terms of dollar sales.

The industry finished 2023 strong in December with total spending increasing by 4% to $7.9 billion. Games content spending rose by 3% to $5.73 billion, hardware saw a 4% increase to $1.6 billion, and accessories experienced a significant leap, with a 14% rise to $584 million. Notably, the PS5 led the hardware category, achieving record-high dollar sales.

The Xbox Series S/X consoles earned second-place honors, expanding their sales from November, while the Nintendo Switch dropped by double-digits month-to-month. With rumors of a new Switch coming later this year, expect sales of Nintendo’s console to continue to slow as we move into 2024.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was the only December release to place on the monthly U.S. chart, coming in at No. 6, shoving Super Mario RPG out of the top ten to #11. 2022’s Elden Ring, at #16, placed in the top 40 again after dropping to #41 last month, joining Minecraft as the only non-2023 games to rank in December.