adminUK video game revenue reached £5.4 billion in 2025, rising 7.4% compared with the previous year. The figures show continued growth for the sector, led by mobile games and digital purchases, while boxed game sales accounted for a relatively small share of spending.
UK video game revenue rose 7.4% in 2025
The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), citing data from NielsenIQ/GfK Entertainment, Omdia and GSD/IFSE, reported that UK consumers spent £5.4 billion on video games during 2025. It was the biggest annual increase since 2020, when revenue climbed 27.9% compared with 2019.
For readers comparing yearly market figures, the 7.4% rate is a year-on-year change, while the 2020 increase was an exceptional jump. Keeping those time periods in mind helps put the latest growth in context.
Mobile games led the increase
Mobile titles generated £1.88 billion in 2025, an 8.8% increase over the prior year. That followed growth of 5.5% between 2023 and 2024. Mobile accounted for 35.5% of total UK games revenue, making it a major part of the market.
The figures indicate that mobile was the leading contributor to the year’s growth. When assessing the market, it is useful to distinguish mobile revenue from console downloads and physical retail, as each category followed a different trend.
Digital purchases outweighed boxed sales
Digital sales generated £5 billion, up 8% year on year. Console game downloads were reported at $857.6 million, an increase of 11.5%, while physical sales fell 1% to £318.8 million. Boxed games represented just 5% of total UK games revenue in 2025.
EA Sports FC 26 was the year’s biggest seller, with more than 1.97 million units sold across physical and digital formats. The result reflects unit sales across both formats rather than revenue alone.
Game ownership remains significant
ERA highlighted that 45% of games revenue came from consumers buying games, rather than subscribing to access them. The comparable ownership share was 16.6% for music and 7.2% for video. These figures describe the revenue mix reported by the organisation; they do not mean that every customer uses only one payment model.
The distinction can help readers understand how games differ from other entertainment markets. Purchases and subscriptions can coexist, so the reported percentages are best viewed as a comparison of revenue sources.
Games outpaced UK GDP growth
Between 2016 and 2025, UK GDP increased by 12%, while games revenue grew by 86—around 7.2 times the GDP growth rate. ERA CEO Kim Bayley said the market had slowed after the exceptional gains of 2020, but described 2025 as a strong return to growth and expressed confidence in momentum continuing into 2026.
Across games, music and video, UK entertainment revenue reached £13.3 billion in 2025, up 7.1% year on year. Overall, UK video game revenue growth was supported by mobile and digital spending, even as physical sales edged down.
