Games piracy ‘has climbed 20% since 2006’

The rate of games piracy is on the rise, according to new data.

Research firm Envisional says that illicit game downloads in the UK climbed 20 per cent over the last five years. It claims that “that the five top games of 2010” were illegally accessed online almost one million times.

None of the five titles were named, nor was the metric in how they were ranked.

Meanwhile, music albums saw a decrease in illegal downloads, though TV show and film piracy rocketed by as much as 30 per cent since 2006.

No explanation was given for the drop in music piracy, though free and convenient music streaming services, such as Spotify, could be a key factor.

Earlier this year, trade group UKIE claimed that for every game that is sold, four will have been pirated. UKIE said these alleged lost sales cost the games industry £1 billion each year.