According to research firm SuperData, the global digital video games market grew in size 7% in March to a new high of $8 billion in USD.
Superdata noted that the mobile segment of the market continued to grow, reaching 13% year-over-year, while the traditional “pay-to-play” segment contracted a gradual-but-significant 6%.
The console-driven and free-to-play segments of the market also encountered some growth while PC and social gaming remained somewhat flat.
SuperData said that “in the US, digital revenue grew by 15% in March across all platforms. Total U.S. digital revenue came in at $1.46 billion this month, up from $1.27 billion in the same month last year. Console digital grew 17% on the back of new releases Mass Effect: Andromeda, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands and Nier: Automata. Free-to-play and mobile grew 12% and 21%, respectively.”
The data suggests a strong return to form for the market after a somewhat slow holiday season. However, the firm did note that this renewed growth was driven by surprising hits like Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands and Nier: Automata rather than proven franchises like EA;s Mass Effect: Andromeda.
SuperData said the new game’s digital revenues “only increased by mid-single-digit percentages against 2012’s Mass Effect 3, despite the growing shift towards digital purchases.”
Breaking down the data further, SuperData released a chart listing the highest grossing titles across the PC, Console and Mobile gaming markets.
