Consumer spending on video games in the UK reached £5.4bn ($7.3bn) in 2025. According to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), the market grew 7.4% year on year (YoY). Mobile games generated £1.88bn ($2.5bn), posting 8.8% growth and becoming the main growth driver for the entire industry.
It was the mobile segment that delivered the market’s biggest increase since the pandemic surge in 2020, when stay-at-home restrictions and a sharp rise in demand for digital entertainment pushed figures up by nearly a third.
Key facts for 2025
- Video game spending: £5.4bn ($7.3bn), +7.4% YoY
- Mobile games: £1.88bn ($2.5bn), +8.8% YoY
- Mobile games’ share of market revenue: 35.5%
The video games market in 2025 — trends compared with previous years
The 7.4% increase was the most notable rise in the UK games market in five years. By comparison, in 2020 revenue jumped 27.9% amid the pandemic boom, when millions of people were confined to their homes and turned to interactive entertainment.
After that record spike, growth rates slowed markedly, and for several years in a row the industry posted much more modest results. Now, however, the figures point to a return to solid upward momentum.
Revenue and the mobile segment’s share of the market
Mobile games grew 8.8% YoY, reaching £1.88bn ($2.5bn). A year earlier, this segment grew by only 5.5%, so the growth rate nearly doubled. Acceleration on this scale suggests that smartphones remain the most widely used gaming platform.
Mobile games accounted for 35.5% of total market revenue. In other words, more than a third of every pound spent by Britons on games went on on-the-go entertainment.
Gambling-style arcade games, as one segment of mobile gaming — popularity and the need for regulation
Among the most popular forms of entertainment in the mobile segment are gambling-style arcade games such as Lucky Jet, Aviatrix, Aviator, Jet X. Some experts do not consider these to be games; however, their colleagues say that in most key respects, iGaming is no different from the mainstream games industry, including in terms of the need to spend money.
But why did users take to projects like these? There are many reasons. They attract players with short rounds and quick rewards. The gameplay is straightforward but highly engaging. And the overall look and feel closely resembles video games.
For example, the most popular game in this category — Lucky Jet — remains the top title among Android device users. As noted by the editors of the Lucky Jet Game website, who offer apps on this site, by number of downloads this app consistently ranks among the leaders.
According to a Lucky Jet review, Android is a particularly important platform. By number of downloads, this app has long surpassed many mobile titles. This makes gambling-style arcade games one of the priority areas of mobile gaming.
However, disagreements fade when it comes to the need to regulate the iGaming market. Such tasks are relevant not only for the UK. Governments in many countries—from Brazil to Nigeria—set themselves similar goals. But not everyone succeeds, as virtual gambling is extremely difficult to regulate effectively.
Why games differ from music and video
ERA highlighted how people consume games. Unlike other entertainment industries, video games remain the only major segment where ownership rather than subscriptions still dominates. Purchases account for 45% of revenue. By comparison:
- Music: purchases account for 16.6%
- Video: just 7.2%
This feature makes the games industry a kind of digital holdout that continues to resist the subscription model that has taken over adjacent markets.
Games, music and video in 2025
Total spending by UK consumers across the three key entertainment segments amounted to £13.3bn ($18bn), up 7.1% YoY. Video games make up a significant share of the overall pie, and their growth rate exceeds the average across the entire entertainment industry.
These proportions underscore that it is the games sector that, in many ways, sets the pace for the UK digital leisure market.
Games are growing faster than the economy
From 2016 to 2025, UK GDP increased by 12%, while games market revenue jumped 86%. In ERA’s wording, the games industry grew 7.2 times faster than the national economy. The gap is striking and clearly shows how far the sector has come in less than a decade.
What the ERA chief expects for 2026
After several years of slowdown, the market returned to noticeable growth, and the association is looking ahead with cautious optimism. ERA chief Kim Bayley commented as follows: “Growth in the games market slowed significantly after the incredible 27.9% spike in the pandemic year of 2020, but relentless innovation enabled it to return to form in style in 2025. We have high hopes the momentum will continue into 2026.”
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