As we enter the new year, esports and gaming continues to change. But what are the 2023 gaming trends? We take a look at 10 reports – some big, some niche – to find out.
There’s been some doom and gloom for esports in 2023 lately, with investors being more cautious and some orgs shutting down or announcing layoffs. So let’s look at some other broader trends to offer a broader picture on gaming.
YouTubers make ‘key contribution’ of £1.4bn to UK economy
Two studies launched at YouTube Festival revealed not only the economic impact of YouTube’s creative ecosystem in the UK, but also the open platform’s role in ‘lowering the barrier to entry for creative talent from different backgrounds and in ensuring audiences can find content that reflects the diversity of the UK today’, YouTube said.
A UK of YouTube report by Oxford Economics showed that YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributes more than £1.4bn to the UK’s GDP in 2021.
A second piece of research with MTM revealed that viewers believe media brands in the UK have work to do in terms of improving on-screen representation.
Some highlights from both reports:
- YouTube’s creative ecosystem supported more than 40,000 full time equivalent jobs in the UK
- YouTube creative ecosystem contributed more than £1.4bn to UK GDP in 2021
- Only 39% of people say media in the UK represents different audiences well
- 74% of YouTube users agree it supports a diverse range of people to become content creators
90% of games sold in 2022 were digital, but overall sales drop
For us to understand 2023 gaming trends, we need to look at what happened in 2022.
90% of games sold in the UK in 2022 were digital, according to the ERA in this BBC article. Overall, £4.7bn of game sales in the UK were made last year – higher than that of the film, TV or music industries.
GamesIndustry.Biz’s Christopher Dring also published a report last week on sales of video games, consoles and accessories falling in 2022 due to stock shortages and more.
34.2m games were sold in 2022, a drop of nearly 6% compared with 2021, according to GSD market data, which tracks all physical boxed games and digital sales from most major publishers, but new game sales rose 20%.
Highlights include:
- Video game sales fell 6% overall in the UK
- New game sales rose 20%
- Console sales dropped 29%
- FIFA 23, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga were the best-selling games of 2022
Newzoo posts 2023 gaming trends to watch out for
Market analyst Newzoo is known for its annual esports reports, tracking the size of the market and the revenues it generates.
The full 2023 report on that isn’t out yet, but last year Newzoo said the global esports audience would grow 8.7% year-on-year to reach 532m, and that it would generate nearly $1.38bn in revenues by the end of 2022.
Newzoo has yesterday posted a games market trends to watch in 2023 report, however, and we’ll include three highlights here:
- More major publishers will pivot their main franchises to a service-based model
- The Microsoft-Activision deal is getting more likely, but regulators will continue to impact how gaming companies operate
- The PC and console markets will embrace hybrid monetisation strategies (including advertising)
Modern Warfare 2 causes highest broadband traffic levels in UK
Virgin Media O2 has revealed the video games that caused the highest broadband traffic levels on its network throughout 2022.
Call of Duty fans dominated the top three broadband traffic peaks in 2022 with Modern Warfare 2 taking the crown as the most popular game of the year, causing Virgin Media O2’s highest customer data consumption on record.
Harassment in gaming continues to increase
One of the 2023 gaming trends is something that has been around for a while. For the fourth consecutive year, the already-high rates of harassment experienced by a nationally representative sample of nearly 100m American adult gamers increased. According to the Entertainment Software Association, 76% of gamers in the United States are over 18 and harassment experienced by teens aged 13-17 increased in 2022 from 2021.
ADL’s annual report on experiences in online multiplayer games said that ‘the spread of hate, harassment, and extremism in these digital spaces continues to grow unchecked’.
The news comes as gamer community Skape.GG and A provider GoBubble launch a global partnership to tackle online toxicity within gaming.
The two companies have joined forces to create a unique experience for the +3m users registered in Skape, with the aim of providing a safer online environment for everyone across the platform, one that is free from online hate and bullying.
Brits who play Pokémon more likely to be supportive of animal rights
A bit of a bizarre one, this, rather than a big 2023 gaming trends report, YouGov data shows that Brits who play Pokémon video games are more likely than the overall population to be supportive of animal rights.
Brits are 19 percentage points likelier than the overall population to agree that the “rights of humans and animals should be equal” (71% vs 52%). They are also markedly likelier to leave food out for animals (49% vs 44%).
Well over a third of them also think that domesticating animals is wrong (36%) compared to just a quarter of the overall population (24%). They are also about as likely as all Britons to feel that breeding animals for money is cruel.
There’s more in these findings:
Deloitte publishes ‘Let’s Play! 2022’ annual report on Europe’s esports market
Deloitte has published a very detailed esports reporton esports’ consumer habits, awareness of esports and more, with several interesting stats and findings.
For just one section, a look at consumers who have watched esports in the last six months emphasises the gap in reach
between more developed European esports markets and those in earlier development stages. The graph indicates that in more developed esports markets, such as Poland and Spain, a more significant proportion of people who have watched esports at least once in their lives have also consumed esports content in the last six months.
Countries such as Austria and Switzerland have a higher proportion of ‘one-off’ viewers, while the UK doesn’t look like it’s doing too badly either. Have a look at the full report linked above for more 2023 gaming trends and esports trends.
Cheating on the increase?
Video game cheating has increased in 2022, with global searches for bots used to gain an unfair advantage having risen by almost a fifth (18%) over the last year, new study by caziwoo shows.
The findings come as part of the Honest Gamers Study, which analyses global and national search volume data to identify trends around video game cheats, including which franchises and titles are most susceptible to dishonest players – and which hacks prove most popular.
The study found that there’s been a rise in gamers utilising tech to cheat, including bots that allow players to automate tasks via AI to gain a competitive edge over fellow players. The most popular bots are AimBot, HealBot and TriggerBot, data shows.
New findings from CALM reveal 50% of gamers and streamers use gaming as a tool to relax and unwind
New research published by suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) has revealed the positive impact gaming and streaming is having, helping a generation of people manage their mental health and connect with others.
A survey across 2,085 people found gamers, livestreamers and stream watchers use the activity for a host of good things, with 50% saying it’s a way to relax, and 42% saying switching on a stream or a game is a way to escape from everyday life.
In contrast only 7% of non-gamers and streamers think that the activity can have a positive impact on mental wellbeing. Negative stereotypes are still hanging around with almost a quarter of people (non-gamers/streamers) still consider gamers and streamers unhealthy (24%) or lonely (25%).
Things change when you talk to gamers and streamers. When asked what traits people associate with gamers and streamers, the picture is very different among this group – with ‘creative’ (29%) and ‘confident’ (26%) topping the list.
EA’s 2022 gaming report
The 2023 gaming trends continue with a look at EA’s data for 2022 in its annual review.
The publisher reflected on another year and the impact of its 600+ million active players and fans around the globe.
FIFA was EA’s most popular sports franchise of the year, while Apex Legends was the most popular non-sports franchise.
Related article: Apex Legends London LANs announced
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
