According to the Recreation Retailers Association (ERA), citing Nelson IQ/GfK Entertainment, Omdia and GSD/IFSE data, British consumers spent Pound5.4 billion on video games in 2025, an increase of 7.4 per cent over the same period, which represents the largest annual increase since 2020 (27.9 per cent higher than in 2019).
The main driver of growth was an 8.8 per cent increase in mobile game income, which reached Pound1.8 billion a year, continuing the 5.5 per cent growth trend between 2023 and 2024. Mobile games accounted for 35.5 per cent of total game income last year. The revenue from downloads of the mainframe video game increased from $11.5 to $857.6 million over the same period, while sales of the physical version decreased slightly by 1 per cent to Pound318.8 million. Entity sales accounted for only 5 per cent of total British game revenues in 2025. Total revenue from digital sales amounted to Pound5 billion, an increase of 8 per cent over the same period. The annual best-selling game is EA Reports FC 26, with more than 1.97 million copies sold by all platform entities and digital versions.
According to ERA, games are currently the only entertainment medium that still gives some importance to “ownership” rather than simply “access rights” — 45 per cent of game revenues come from direct purchase by users rather than subscription models. In contrast, the share of buyout consumption of music and video content was 16.6 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively. The Agency also disclosed a 12 per cent increase in GDP in the United Kingdom between 2016 and 2025, while the increase in game income was 86 per cent, a 7.2-fold increase. “The game market slowed significantly after an alarming 27.9 per cent growth in the 2020 epidemic, but continued innovation led to a strong return in 2025. We have strong confidence that it will maintain this momentum in 2026.” The United Kingdom ‘ s overall entertainment industry (play, music, video) reached Pound13.3 billion in 2025, an increase of 7.1 per cent over the previous year.
