UK gamers spent a record high £7.1billion in 2021

Gamers in the UK spent a record amount of money on the hobby, with the country’s games market valued at £7.16billion through 2021.

As revealed by The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie), the country spent £4.28billion on games across console, mobile and PC. £1.65billion in sales went to digital purchases on console, which pulled slightly ahead of the £1.46billion spent on mobile games through the year. PC gaming proved less popular, with £620million in sales recorded.

On the impressive digital sales, Steven Bailey, senior games analyst at Omdia, said “the important story here is of how much of the lockdown-related boost seen in 2020 has been successfully retained during 2021’s year of correction,” and added that people can expect a “return to growth for most digital areas in 2022.”

In terms of hardware, the UK spent £2.66billion on consoles, PC hardware, accessories and VR kit over the year, and a further £226million was spent on things that fall into general game culture – for example streaming, events, and merchandise.

On the effect that consoles had on the increased spending, GfK Entertainment’s senior client director Dorian Bloch said that the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles “made a huge impact” in their first full calendar year, and said “there is no surprise that this is the best year since the all-time peak back in 2008.”

Ukie’s CEO, Dr Jo Twist, shared “the UK is a nation that loves its video games and we should be proud of the positive contribution this sector makes to the economy, to our culture and to wider society.”

In other news, indie studio Funomena has confirmed that it faces closure, just weeks after allegations of workplace abuse surfaced.