UK video games market now worth more than £4bn

Britain's consumer games market reached a record of just over £4.3 billion last year, thanks in part to the roll-out of virtual reality (VR) technology.

The video game market grew in value by 1.2% in 2016. Picture: Jane Barlow

Trade body Ukie revealed the value of the market hit £4.33bn in 2016, up 1.2 per cent from 2015’s total.

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The result included an 11.1 per cent hike in digital console and PC games sales and a 16.9 per cent jump in UK mobile games revenue – now worth £995 million. Overall, software sales exceeded £3bn for the first time.

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The consumer release of the first VR headsets has helped fuel the growth of the sector through the sales of associated hardware, the organisation noted.

Jo Twist, chief executive of Ukie, said: “Our sector is constantly innovating and investing in new experiences, technologies and talent, resulting in the strong and resilient games industry shown in this £4.33bn market valuation. It has been an excellent year.”

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