Global games market grew 9% in May to hit $7.8bn – SuperData

The worldwide games market grew by 9 per cent year-on-year in May, according to the latest report from SuperData,reaching $7.8bn.

Once again, mobile was the strongest driver last month, with the sector growing by 16 per cent year-on-year. Free to play also grew by 17 per cent, while pay to play games grew by 12 per cent.

However, this growth was dampened by a decline in several other segments of the market, with social gaming falling by 4 per cent year-on-year, and console sliding by 7 per cent. It was the premium PC market that showed the biggest fall in spending, however, with a drop of 30 per cent.

Despite this, US digital revenue for May was still up month-on-month, says SuperData, with gamers spending over $1bn across all platforms.

Indeed, Overwatch showed continued growth last month, despite digital revenue being down year-on-year compared to May 2016 when it first launched. "Additional content revenue hit a new high in May" off the back of the game’s one-year anniversary event, the report reads.

Injustice 2 also had a strong launch on consoles, with SuperData estimating the title sold around 500,000 digital units on console after its mid-May launch. This was enough to put it at No.4 in the firm’s worldwide top grossing digital titles of the month.

Elsewhere in the charts, a new DLC pack on PS4 for Call of Duty: Black Ops III helped the title rise above Infinite Warfare last month, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege broke into the Top Ten for the first time since January 2016 thanks to its new Year Two content support.

Here are top grossing titles worldwide ranked by May 2017 earnings in full:

1. FIFA 17
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Battlefield 1
4. Injustice 2
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops III
6. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands
7. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
8. Overwatch
9. NBA 2K17
10. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege