We all knew that 2024 wasn’t exactly going to be the banger of the year that 2023 was, and now the sales figures for the first half of the year have reflected just that. In total, UK video game software sales (both physical and digital) dropped by 29.4% compared to last year.
According to data from the Entertainment Retailers Association (spotted by VGC), this means revenue was £348.6 million for game sales. Physical sales, which dropped by 40% year-on-year, made up £111.7 million of that, while digital sales, which took a hit of 23%, made £236.9 milllion.
“It was a tough first half for the games business with a lack of heavy-hitting releases, but we are optimistic for a strong second half,” said Entertainment Retailers Association CEO Kim Bayley.
Music and video sales still failed to hit the heights of the gaming market, raking in £163.8 million and £213.7 million respectively. Still, combined they do knock gaming’s sales, but once again we’re expecting the second half of 2024, with the likes of Call of Duty and EA Sports FC, to bring sales back up a notch.