The video game industry is currently in crisis, as the numerous layoffs prove it. User behavior is likely to play an important role, as a new study shows worrying figures.
The video game market is growing. According to a new study, there was also an increase of 2.6 percent in 2023 and sales of 93.5 billion US dollars for PCs and consoles are not bad. However, the studio shows a worrying trend that fits in quite well with the current crisis in the industry, because only comparatively few publishers and developers are benefiting from the still strong numbers.
The reason for this is that total playing time is falling (26 percent since Q1 2021) and players are spending more time with older titles instead of consuming the new games that will be released in abundance, especially in 2023. The Report from market research company Newzoo shows, for example, that the top 10 games according to the average number of monthly active users consist primarily of older live service titles. Fortnite is at the top, followed by well-known titles such as Grand Theft Auto V, Counter-Strike 2, Roblox, Minecraft, Rocket League, Apex Legends, Fall Guys, Valorant and Call of Duty. Only Starfield was able to squeeze in as a new single player title, at least on the consoles.
We know that an incredible number of games were released in 2023, but the numbers also show that the proportion of flops is high. According to the study, 80 percent of the total playing time in 2023 will be on just 66 titles. 60 percent of the playing time was spent playing games that are more than six years old. Of the 23 percent playing time share of newer titles (< two years), half was accounted for by annual series such as EA's sports games. 90 percent of the sales generated by new games came from just 43 titles. The remaining 10 percent are spread over well over 1,400 releases.
Only 8 percent of the total playing time in 2023 was spent on new games that do not belong to annual series. The front runners are Diablo IV, Hogwarts Legacy, Baldur’s Gate III, Elden Ring and Starfield. Just five games share a whopping 27 percent of the total playing time: Fortnite, Roblox, League of Legends, Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V.
The distribution across genres is also exciting. Despite a slight decline, first-person shooters are by far ahead, followed by third-person shooters, sandbox games and hero shooters. Only then do action RPGs, sports, open-world survival, action-adventures, MOBA and looter shooters follow.
