In 2023, the Italian video game market experienced a surge in growth, with a 5% increase from the previous year to reach a value of €2.3 billion. This makes Italy one of the top five European markets in the sector, with 13 million players across various gaming devices and representing 31% of the Italian population aged 6 to 64. The majority of Italian gamers are men, with 8 million (61%) and an average age of 30, while female gamers number 4.9 million (38%) with an average age of 31. Additionally, there are now 0.1 million individuals who identify as neither male nor female, a new figure reported for the first time in 2023.
Mobile devices are the most popular gaming platforms in Italy, with over nine million users playing Brain/Puzzle (20%), Trivia (18%), and Role Playing/Strategy (16%) games. Consoles follow closely behind with just over five million gamers focusing on Sports (29%), Racing (26%), and Shooter (22%) genres. PCs are used by four and a half million gamers for Strategy (19%), Shooter (16%), and Sports (14%) games. In line with trends across European markets post-pandemic, only seven out of ten gamers played at least an hour per week in Italy in 2023, averaging around six hours weekly – one hour less than the previous year.
The hardware segment in Italy had an exceptional year in 2023, experiencing a whopping increase of over sixty percent from the previous year due to new consoles being available on the market. Hardware sales reached an estimated value of €487 million euros – up seventy percent annually! Accessories also saw substantial growth during this period, achieving sales worth €178 million euros – up forty-six percent from the previous year. Despite overall declining by eight percent, software remains by far the largest segment in the Italian gaming market – valued at €1.6 billion euros – which is equivalent to seventy-one percent of the total market value. New game purchases rose by six percent from last year’s figures, reaching €777 million euros; this includes forty-six percent through physical sales channels and fifty-four percent through digital channels respectively.
In summary, while there has been some fluctuation within specific segments of Italy’s video game industry since its peak last year due to global economic factors such as inflation or supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19 pandemic restrictions worldwide; overall it continues to grow steadily despite challenges posed by these events.
Italian Video Game Market: Growth Amid Challenges