The State of the UK's Physical Games Market Might Explain PS5 Pro's Lack of Disc Drive

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The UK has seen dwindling physical game sales for several years now, but 2024 may have seen the most dramatic shift yet.

Year-on-year, the country's video game revenue for 2024 was down 4.4 per cent overall, but physical sales specifically were down by nearly 35 per cent. Digital sales by comparison were overall down by one per cent.

Of the £4.6 billion total revenue, physical game sales generated £324.4 million, meaning it represents only about seven per cent of the total.

There are a few things to consider. As mentioned, the UK has been trending towards digital for a long time, so seeing physical sales take a hit comes as little surprise. Worth mentioning, though, is that 2023 saw the release of Hogwarts Legacy, which has been a monumental hit.

2024 had EA Sports FC 25 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, but these franchises are yearly occurrences, whereas Hogwarts isn't, and that will have made a difference to last year's stats.

The best-selling game in the UK in 2024 was indeed EA Sports FC 25, and about 80 per cent of the 2.9 million copies sold were via digital storefronts.

Things can always improve of course, and 2025 could prove to be a better year for the physical market. Grand Theft Auto 6 is supposedly launching this year, which will lift things up on its own, while the successor to the Nintendo Switch is also slated for 2025, and that'll certainly boost the numbers as consumers buy new software for the new machine.

Still, the UK is clearly leaning heavily towards digital, and the physical market is definitely shrinking. The global games market is roughly in parallel, with digital gradually taking over, and it's part of the reason you're starting to see consoles like PS5 Pro arrive without a disc drive included in the box.

What do you think? Did you contribute to the UK's meagre physical games revenue last year, or are you all-in on digital? Tell us in the comments section below.

[source videogameschronicle.com]