The embargo is lifted and the numbers are out. The annual UK consumer market valuation puts the value of the UK games market in 2020 at a record £7bn, an increase of almost 30% on 2019.
UKIE's helpful infographics here reveal the details.
Whilst we were all aware of the significant increases in streaming and digital sales, it's interesting to see how well physical goods have performed. Toys and merchandising were up by 22%, and game-related hardware sales by a staggering 60%.
This surge in value reflects a trend we have noticed in our work as lawyers, with a number of games companies showing a renewed interest in making sure they have adequate IP protection in key territories, and that issues of squatting and bad faith applications are dealt with promptly.
As countries gradually begin to regain some of their freedom, the challenge for the industry is to see how many of its recent video game converts it can hold on to. The kind of growth seen in 2020 is unlikely to be sustainable in the long term, but, now more than ever, the industry has the world's attention.
The UK market for video games reached a record £7bn in 2020, an increase of +29.9% from 2019, beating 2018’s previous record by more than a billion pounds.
