U.S. video game spending rose 9% y/y in June, says Circana

Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said that June 2023 U.S. consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories reached $4.7B, a 9% increase vs the same period a year ago. It was the 2nd highest spending ever achieved in a June month, trailing only June 2021’s $4.8B. First half spending totaled $26.6B, 2% ahead of a year ago. Spending on video game content increased by 7% in June when compared to a year ago, totaling $4.1B. Console & PC Digital Premium Download spending in the month increased by more than 50% year-on-year. Content spending during the year’s first half reached $22.8B, flat to a year ago. An 8% increase in content spending on Console and a slight gain in Non-Mobile Subscription spending were offset by declines in the Mobile and the PC, Cloud and Non-Console VR segments. Activision Blizzard’s (ATVI) “Diablo IV” was the best-selling game of June, instantly becoming the #3 best-selling game of 2023 year-to-date. Four other new releases appeared among the top 20 best-sellers, including Square Enix’s (SQNXF)” “Final Fantasy XVI” in second place, Capcom’s (CCOEY) “Street Fighter 6” in third place, and EA‘s (EA) “F1 23” in the fifteenth spot. Other publicly traded companies in the video game space include Microsoft (MSFT), Sony (SONY), Nintendo (NTDOY), Take-Two (TTWO), Ubisoft (UBSFY), Tencent (TCEHY), and GameStop (GME).