J. Clement
Research lead covering internet and gaming
Video game industry in the United States - Statistics & Facts
The video game industry in the United States is one of the biggest worldwide, spanning businesses of various sizes from single-person indie developers to publicly listed, multinational companies that employ thousands of people. In 2023, the revenue of the video games industry in the United States amounted to 106 billion U.S. dollars. However, the specter of broader tech industry layoffs also looms above the gaming industry, and the U.S. gaming industry sector is in for a brutal shake-up.
Despite the undeniable economic impact of the gaming industry in the United States, times have been changing post-COVID. Many gaming companies have had layoffs and restructurings, and even successful studios releasing best-selling games have not been safe from their parent companies whipping out the red pen. It remains to be seen which companies will survive this period, and which people can afford to keep working in this tough industry with many game developers vying for increasingly fewer job opportunities.
Gaming software development & publishing in the United States
The creation of video games is done by video game developers – in 2023, U.S. the video game software development industry was estimated to be worth 2.84 billion U.S. dollars. Video game software publishers are responsible for publishing and distributing video games, providing the link between video game developers and commercial distribution companies. In the United States, the market size of the video game software publishing industry has been increasing over the last decade, reaching nearly 43.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.Video game businesses and employment
The video game industry accounts over 104,000 employees across various gaming-related sectors the United States. Of these figures, 2,042 establishments were game developers employing approximately 35,954 employees. The biggest gaming companies generate huge amounts of direct and indirect employment, with Electronic Arts being the biggest U.S.-based game developer based on total workforce (however, most EA employees work in locations outside the United States).Economic impact of the gaming industry
With this number of businesses and the ever-increasing industry output, it is hardly surprising that the video game industry in the United States has a significant economic impact. In 2023, the overall video game industry accounted for a total of over 35 billion U.S. dollars of labor income in the United States. That year, California was ranked first among the U.S. states with highest direct in-state video games industry output, ahead of Washington and Texas.Major U.S. gaming companies
Many triple-A gaming companies are headquartered California: Electronic Arts (EA), Activision Blizzard (ABK), Insomniac Games, Santa Monica Studio, Riot Games, and Roblox Corporation, to name a few. Several of these brands are publicly listed and rank among the biggest gaming companies worldwide.Despite the undeniable economic impact of the gaming industry in the United States, times have been changing post-COVID. Many gaming companies have had layoffs and restructurings, and even successful studios releasing best-selling games have not been safe from their parent companies whipping out the red pen. It remains to be seen which companies will survive this period, and which people can afford to keep working in this tough industry with many game developers vying for increasingly fewer job opportunities.
