U.S. video game spending rose 10% y/y in October, says Circana

Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said that projected October 2024 total U.S. spending on video game hardware, content and accessories grew 10% when compared to a year ago, to $4.7B. Year-to-date spending is now 1% above a year ago, at $45.4B. The increase was driven primarily by the debut of Activision’s (MSFT) “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” in October, as compared to the launch of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III” during the November tracking period a year ago. Video game content spending increased by 12% versus a year ago, reaching $4.2B. Console content was the biggest contributor to the overall gain, with a spending increase of 27% when compared to a year ago, fueled by console digital full game sales. Non-mobile video game subscription spending increased by 16% when compared to a year ago. The release of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” as part of Xbox Game Pass was the primary growth driver. “Black Ops 6” was October’s best-selling video game, debuting as the #3 best-selling game of 2024 YTD. Over each title’s first two weeks in market, full game dollar sales of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” were 23% higher than “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III” a year ago. PlayStation (SONY) platforms accounted for 82% of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” total console full game dollar sales volume during the October tracking period. Meanwhile, video game hardware spending dropped 23% in October when compared to a year ago. Switch (NTDOY) dollar sales fell 38% year-on-year during October, while PS5 declined by 20% and Xbox Series showed an 18% decrease. PlayStation 5 was once again the best-selling hardware platform in both unit and dollar sales for the month, with Xbox Series ranking 2nd across both measures. Other top-selling games in the U.S. for the month of October were Bandai Namco’s (NCBDY) “Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero,” Konami’s (KONMY) “Silent Hill 2,” Plaion’s “Undisputed,” Sega’s (SGAMY) “Metaphor: ReFantazio,” Electronic Arts’ (EA) “Dragon Age: The Veilguard,” and Nintendo’s (NTDOY) “Super Mario Party Jamboree.”