UK PC games market smashes through £500m sales barrier

UK consumers spent half a billion pounds on PC games last year.

It’s the biggest number in the platform’s history, but if you visited the UK High Street you wouldn’t know it.

The boxed PC market has suffered its steepest decline yet, with 42.7m made from the sale of physical software last year – a fall of almost 26 per cent over 2012. A decade ago in 2003, boxed PC games generated just shy of 200m (according to UKIE/GfK Chart-Track).

Yet, IHS Screen Digest estimates the PC digital market – which includes social games, casual portals, download-to-own and MMO revenue – is worth 458m.

The data firm estimates that PC casual portals (such as Big Fish) have declined year-on-year, PC Facebook games are flat, while download-to-own and online products (such as MMOs and MOBAs) have grown significantly.

We’ve heard it time and time again that the PC gaming scene will die, yet it remains strong,” said Imre Jele of UK PC developer Bossa Studios.

Some of the most creative and inspiring games of last year arrived on PCs first, and one must not forget how user behaviour shifts.”

Trion Worlds CEO Scott Hartsmann added: We’re in an era where the number of creators and consumers has skyrocketed, and the lines between the two have blurred. Open platforms win, and as long as the PC stays open, it will remain the dominant platform for gaming.”