Video games in Italy in 2023
Video games: in 2023 spendings exceed €2.3 billion (b) (+5% over 2022), confirming Italy among the top 5 European markets.
Milan, 18 Apr 2024 - In 2023 continues the positive trend of video games market's growth in Italy:
the sector's turnover exceeds €2.3b, with a 5% increase over 2022. This is what emerges from the report "
Video games in Italy in 2023" published today by IIDEA, the association representing the video games industry in Italy. The result confirms the health state of the market, despite a not easy macroeconomic context, and place our country among the top 5 European markets.
The video games market in Italy
With a value of
€665 million (m), equivalent to 29% of the total market,
the hardware segment achieved, in 2023, an unprecedented increase YoY of +63%. Thanks to the availability of new consoles, after the supply issues of the previous year, hardware sales registered an increase of 70% YoY comparerd to the previous survey, reaching an estimated value of €487m in 2023. Console sales also drove sales of accessories, which increased by 46%, reaching an estimated value of €178m in 2023.
Despite it recorded an
overall decline of 8%, the software is confirmed as the most relevant of the video games ecosystem in Italy, with an estimated value of
€1.6b in 2023 and equivalent to 71% of the total market. New video games purchase has increased by 6% compared to 2022, reaching €577m. 46% of this amount was driven by video games purchase through physical distribution channels (equivalent to €264m, -6% compared to 2022), demonstrating the physycal market's solidity in italy. The remaining 54% was made through digital distribution channels, for an estimated value of €314m (+19% over 2022). Regarding, instead, in-app purchases - like expansions for video games via DLC or microtransactions for consoles and PCs, on-demand services, service subscription for consoles - these have registered a decrease of 42% compared to the previous year, against an estimated value of €285m.
In 2023 Italian players hence decided to
invest more in the purchase of new hardware devices - thus renewing their domestic equipment as soon as consoles became available after the deficit of the past years. This was offset by the contraption of the sales of expansions via DLC or microtransactions and/or extra services. Based on this picture, starting from 2024 a new recovery of the software segment can reasonably be expected, since video game players will want to have a wider games library available on their consoles.
The video game players in Italy
In 2023 there were 13m video game players in Italy, that is 31% of the Italian population aged between 6 and 64 years old who play on any device. Italian players are currently mostly men, 8m (61%), with an average age of 30 years, while female players are 4.9m (38%), with an average age of 31 years (the average age of the italian sample is 30 years); 0.1m people do not identify themselves neither as women nor as men, data collected for the first time this year.
The total number of Italian players
recorded a decline of 8% compared to 2022. The decrease has regarded casual players, that is, those who play once per month or less. This trend, in line with what was reported in the same period in the main European markets, is the effect of a complete resumption of post-pandemic activities and a desire to spend more free time outside homes.
Furthermore, the gaming public is mostly adult: 7 players out of 10 are in the age group between 18 and 64 years. The age groups where the highest number of players is concentrated are the group 15-24 (equivalent to about 3.2m people) followed by the group 45-64 (equivalent to 3.1m).
Game mode and time
Even
in 2023 mobile devices turn out to be the most used by players, with 9.2m using them mainly for playing Brain/Puzzle (20%), Trivia (18%) and RPG/Strategy (16%) genres.
Consoles follow, with 5.6m of players who play mainly Sports (29%), Racing (26%) and Shooter (22%) genre titles.
Lastly, PC, with 4.6m players, who mainly play Strategy (19%), Shooter (16%) and Sports (14%) titles.
73% of players play at least one hour a week, for an average game time of about 6.53 hours a week in 2023, one hour less than 2022. Even this data is in line with the main European markets and determined by a definitive recovery of post-pandemy activities.
The list of the best selling video games in 2023
The top 10 of the best selling video games in 2023
once again sees the title of the famous football series
EA SPORTS FC 24 at the top. To follow on the podium this year we find
Hogwarts Legacy, the video game set in the magical universe of Harry Potter's books, and in 3rd position the new title of the war franchise
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Below is the top 10:
- EA SPORTS FC 24
- HOGWARTS LEGACY
- CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE III
- MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2
- SUPER MARIO BROS. WONDER *
- THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TEARS OF THE KINGDOM *
- DIABLO IV
- F1 23
- ASSASSIN'S CREED MIRAGE
- RESIDENT EVIL 4
* Nintendo digital data not included
iideassociation.com
