UK Gaming Sales Market Is Now 80% Digital

UK Gaming Sales Are Now 80% Digital

Perhaps one of the biggest shifts in the gaming industry over the last 3 years is how more and more people are looking to buy games online rather than actual physical copies. There are, of course, many good reasons for this. Firstly, you can, of course, access the game immediately (well, pending a download) instead of travelling to a store in the hope that they not only have it in stock but that it’s also reasonably priced.

In a report via GamesIndustry, however, a compilation of data from various research firms has found that 2018 saw a huge increase in gaming digital sales. So huge, in fact, that they now account for 80% of the market.

AAA-Games

The figures compiled from GfK (physical retail), ISFE and GSD (digital retail), has placed digital sales at around 80.1% of the total market income generated. This roughly represents a 12.5% year-on-year growth for the online retail industry. It does, however, appear that while physical sales are in decline, it’s a factor that isn’t entirely representative in AAA-games.

It seems that games such as Fifa 19 and COD:BO2 are still enjoying pretty decent physical copy sales.

The Future Of Physical Sales

PC gaming and mobile clearly play a significant role in these figures. In addition, it’s also hard to discount the huge effect that microtransactions have on the market. While it does appear that consoles may be the sole focus of physical sales moving forward, it does at least seem that the writing may be on the wall.

What do you think? What was the last physical game you purchased? – Let us know in the comments!