The standout performer in February was Helldivers 2, which saw a strong launch, propelling it to the top spot among all premium titles released in 2024 thus far. Mat Piscatella, Executive Director at Circana, revealed that US consumers spent a total of $4.71 billion on video game content, hardware, and accessories in February, representing a modest 2% increase compared to the same period last year. Game accessories experienced a notable surge in sales, rising by 25% year-over-year to reach $219 million. This growth was primarily driven by a 14% increase in spending on gamepads and the PlayStation Portal, a new addition to the Remote Play Devices category.
Feb 2024 U.S. Video Game Market Highlights from Circana – Projected U.S. total spending on video game hardware, content and accessories grew 2% in Feb vs YA, to $4.7B. 17% growth in Mobile content spending vs YA helped offset a 30% drop in hardware. (Mobile source: Sensor Tower) pic.twitter.com/CNCve4LafX
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) March 21, 2024
However, the hardware segment saw a significant decline, dropping by 30% compared to February 2023, amounting to $349 million in sales. Piscatella noted that this decline affected all console platforms, with each experiencing a minimum 19% decrease compared to the previous year.
Helldivers 2 emerged as February’s top-selling premium game, based on physical and digital sales data shared by publishers with Circana. It also claimed the top spot on both PlayStation 5 and PC platforms. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth debuted at #2, with other new releases like Skull and Bones and Mario vs. Donkey Kong making notable appearances on the chart.
In terms of year-to-date best-sellers, Helldivers 2 maintained its lead, with its launch month sales ranking among the highest ever achieved by a Sony-published title in the US. Steam accounted for nearly 60% of the total sales.
Fortnite led the pack in player engagement, ranking as the top game on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 by monthly active users (MAU), while Helldivers 2 secured the top spot on Steam. According to Sensor Tower, Monopoly GO continued its dominance as the highest-grossing mobile game in the US, contributing to a 17% increase in mobile game spending compared to February 2023.
