Covid or not, the video game market in France has, for 2020, shown no weakness. The figures of the study unveiled yesterday by the SELL, Syndicate of Leisure Software Publishers, prove the good health of a sector which seems to have even benefited from the health crisis.
“After a unique year 2020 which will have confirmed the social dimension of its practice, the video game industry has achieved historic performance with a turnover of 5,3 billion euros. Never has the video game played its role so much: that of entertaining, bringing together and federating to allow millions of players to escape in an unprecedented health context. " introduced SELL in the online press conference during which the union revealed a study conducted from the GSD / GameTrack / App Annie panels at the end of 2020.
Arrows up, + in front of the percentages, figures based on millions… the graphs presented by SELL say a lot, the video game market in France is doing well. The Covid-19 crisis, which marked the year 2020, did not taint the total turnover, which increased by 11,3% to 5,3 billion euros (2.7 billion consoles, 1.42 billion mobile, 1.18 billion PC gaming).
Gear and headlines
For the consoles, the year was marked by the release in the 4th quarter of the PS5 and Xbox Series, but also of headlines. In the top 3, we find in particular Animal Crossing New Horizons (53 M € for 1.079.290 units sold), Fifa 21 (52 M € for 929.610 units), and Mario Kart Deluxe (27 M € for 553.803 units). Also in the top 20 are Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Ghost of Tsushima or Cyberpunk 2077, released late in the year.
On the side of PC, the top 20 differs both in numbers and in games. Football Manager 2020 leads the way in terms of turnover (1.93 M €) followed by Red Dead Redemption 2 (1.67 M €). Cyberpunk 2077, released at the end of the year, took 3rd place with 1.48 M €. In sales volume, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege takes the top step of the podium with 56.817 units sold, followed by GTA V (56.809 units) and RDR2 (44.086 units).
Farming Simulator 20 remains in this top 20 despite its release in November 2018! The game published by Focus Home Interactive shows a turnover of € 796.178 for 34.439 units sold. If Giants' game wasn't in the top 20 consoles, PC gamers were able to rediscover this simulation and its many expansions thanks to a free version of the base game released on the Epic Games Store in early 2020.
A typically French profile
During its presentation, SELL also highlighted the profile of French players, which is quite atypical compared to the rest of Europe. All platforms combined, and among the 6 to 64-year-old panel, France counts no less than 30 million players. And this year 2020 is marked by a female majority! 51% women, compared to 49% men. The "old" represent the majority age group with 7.2 million players aged 45 to 64, followed by 15-24 year olds (6,9 million), 25-34 year olds (5,3 million) and 35 -44 years old (4,8 M).
Figures to be confirmed for 2021
The study, very long, goes much further in detail and I leave it to you to consult this 74-page document, if you wish to know more about the video game industry in France. For 2021, the latter will have to face new issues. We can only think of the shortage of equipment, which impacts both the console park and PC Gaming with PS5, Xbox Series, but also untraceable or overpriced Geforce RTXs. The covid crisis is also affecting developers, who are declining in efficiency and risk, for some, having to postpone the release of their titles. First developer in sight: Giants Software, who does not know which foot to dance on for the release of the next installment of Farming Simulator… 21? 22?
