US Game Industry Generated $36 Billion in 2017 Report Shows
2017 was a really good year for gamers, and now it appears it was equally good for publishers as well. A recent report out of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and The NDP Group has revealed that the US industry generated a record $36 Billion in revenue during 2017. This revenue record marks an 18 percent increase from 2016.
Generated $36 Billion in 2017
Figures from the 2017 report combined hardware revenue (including peripherals), and software revenue from both physical and digital sales. Both in-game purchases and subscriptions were included in calculating digital sales. The ESA included this yearly comparison table in their report:
Year over year comparison. Image via ESA.
With such tremendous revenue growth, ESA highlighted the fact that the US video game industry is one of the nation’s fastest growing economic sectors. The game industry provides 220,000 jobs along with generating billions of dollars in revenue for communities across the US. To see an interesting geographical visualization of the impact of the gaming industry, check out this site by the ESA.
Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA, had this to say about the numbers:
“The spectacular growth of our industry in 2017 proves video game developers, artists, and storytellers are the brightest lights in the US economy, finding more ways to delight the world’s 2.6 billion gamers each year,”
“Congratulations to our industry’s brilliant creators on delivering another record year of remarkable entertainment that inspired the passion of gamers everywhere.”
While the ESA numbers don’t breakdown further, we can conclude by looking at various end of the year sales lists from the likes of Sony, Amazon, and Steam, that many of the large publishing houses had very good years. The rise in their stock prices also highlights the huge interest and opportunity the Video Game industry is currently generating.
