Monthly revenue of the U.S. video game industry 2017-2024, by segment

In September 2024, total video games sales in the United States amounted to 4.38 billion U.S. dollars, representing a six percent year-over-year decrease. Generally speaking, the video game industry has its most important months in November and December, as video game software and hardware make very popular Christmas gifts. In December 2023, total U.S. video game sales surpassed 7.91 billion U.S. dollars. 

Birth of the video game industry

Although the largest regional market in terms of sales, as well as number of gamers, is Asia Pacific, the United States is also an important player within the global video games industry. In fact, many consider the United States as the birthplace of gaming as we know it today, fueled by the arcade game fever in the ’60s and the introduction of the first personal computers and home gaming consoles in the ‘70s. Furthermore, the children of those eras are the game developers and game players of today, the ones who have driven the movement for better software solutions, better graphics, better sound and more advanced interaction not only for video games, but also for computers and communication technologies of today.

An ever-changing market

However, the video game industry in the United States is not only growing, it is also changing in many ways. Due to increased internet accessibility and development of technologies, more and more players are switching from single-player console or PC video games towards multiplayer games, as well as social networking games and last, but not least, mobile games, which are gaining tremendous popularity around the world. This can be evidenced in the fact that mobile games accounted for 51 percent of the revenue of the games market worldwide, ahead of both console games and downloaded or boxed PC games. As of 2022, the United States accounted for 28 percent of global gaming market revenues, ahead of second-ranked Japan with 20 percent.