A recent report shows that the UK gaming market is still thriving, even though the broader industry is facing challenges.
The video game industry has faced significant challenges recently, with many companies – from small independent developers to large giants like EA and Xbox – having to lay off employees.
Even with these challenges, people in the UK are spending more on games than ever before.
A new report from Ukie, the UK’s video game trade body, shows a notable increase in how much UK consumers are spending on games and interactive entertainment.
In 2025, people in Britain spent £8.76 billion on video games, which was a 7.4% increase compared to 2024.
Most of the spending went towards software, increasing by 7% to reach £6.03 billion. Hardware purchases totaled £2.17 billion.
As a gamer, it’s awesome to see how much things are changing! A big part of that growth is definitely the move away from buying physical game copies and towards digital downloads. When you add up all the spending on digital games – on consoles, PCs, and even mobile – it came to a massive £5.71 billion! It’s clear more and more of us are choosing to download our games now.
The release of the Nintendo Switch 2 will likely be a significant driver of sales, as the original Switch has already proven incredibly popular with millions of buyers around the globe.
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Spending on ‘Game Culture’ – things like movies, TV shows, toys, and related merchandise – rose sharply last year, increasing by 42% to £566 million. The popularity of ‘The Minecraft Movie’ contributed to this growth.
Despite increasing costs and tighter budgets, British consumers spent more on games in 2025 than in any previous year, according to Ukie CEO Nick Poole. He sees this as a strong sign of their continued enthusiasm for gaming.
The UK games industry is poised for a potentially pivotal year, as studios nationwide are creating games expected to attract a huge audience.
Poole is right to suggest 2026 could be a huge year for gaming, but it’s unrealistic to expect that success won’t largely depend on a single, standout game.
Rockstar North, the studio in Edinburgh, is developing Grand Theft Auto 6. It’s predicted to be a massive hit, potentially earning billions of dollars on its release day.
2026 and the release of GTA 6 represent a huge opportunity to establish the UK as a leading force in the worldwide gaming industry.
Authors
Alex Raisbeck writes about video games for TopMob, covering both major releases and smaller independent titles. He’s also contributed to well-known gaming publications like VideoGamer, GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, and PCGamesN.
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2026-04-13 13:34