The video game industry in the United States is one of the fastest-growing entertainment industries in the country. The American video game industry is the largest video game industry in the world. According to a 2020 study released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the yearly economic output of the American video game industry in 2019 was $90.3 billion, supporting over 429,000 American jobs. With an average yearly salary of about $121,000, the latter figure includes over 143,000 individuals who are directly employed by the video game business. Additionally, activities connected to the video game business generate $12.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes each year. The World Economic Forum estimates that, by 2025, the American gaming industry will reach $42.3 billion while the worldwide gaming industry will possibly reach US$270 billion. The United States is one of the nations with the largest influence in the video game industry, with video games representing a significant part of its economy.
Major publishers headquartered in the United States are: Sony Interactive Entertainment, Xbox (consist of Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks and Activision Blizzard), Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Epic Games, Valve, Warner Bros. Games, Riot Games, and others. Major video game events such as BlizzCon, QuakeCon, Summer Game Fest, and PAX are held every year in the US. For many years, E3, held annually in the US, was considered the biggest gaming expo of the year in terms of its importance and impact. The Game Awards, The New York Game Awards, and D.I.C.E. Awards are some of the most respected video game awards events in the video game industry. 103 million people watched The Game Awards 2022 event alone. The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is still the largest and one of the most important video game conferences for video game developers.
In statistics collected by the ESA for the year 2013, a reported 58% of Americans play video games and the average American household now owns at least one dedicated video game console, PC or smartphone. According to estimates from Nielsen Media Research, approximately 45.7 million U.S. households in 2006 (or approximately 40 percent of approximately 114.4 million) owned a dedicated home video game console, and by 2015, 51 percent of U.S. households owned a dedicated home video game console according to an Entertainment Software Association annual industry report. The households that own these items play games most commonly on their console or PC. 36% of U.S. gamers play on their smartphones. 43% of video game consumers believe games give them the most value for their money compared to other common forms of entertainment such as movies or music. In 2011, the average American gamer spent an average of 13 hours per week playing video games. In 2013, almost half of Americans who were gaming more than they did in 2010 spent less time playing board games, watching TV, going to the movies, and watching movies at home. When Americans game, 62% do so with others online or in person, yet the other person is more likely to be a friend than a significant other or family member. The most common reason parents play video games with their children is as a fun family activity, or because they are asked to. 52% of parents believe video games are a positive part of their child's life, and 71% of parents with children under 18 see gaming as beneficial to mental stimulation or education.
Demographics
The number of mobile game players in the US is higher than it has ever been at more than 191 million people, or 57.3% of the population. The average age of a U.S. gamer is 35, the average number of years a U.S. gamer has been playing games is 13. In 2021, it was reported that the age distribution of U.S. gamers were 20% under the 18 years old, 38% were in between 18 and 34 years old, 14% were in between 35 and 44 years old, 12% were in between 45 and 54 years old, 9% were in between 55 and 64 years old, and 7% were 65 years old or over. The American gamer population is 54% male and 46% female. Of those females, women 18 and older account for a greater portion of the population than males younger than 18. The average female video game player is 44 years old, while the average male video game player is 35.
Market statistics The best-selling console video game genres of 2022 were action, shooters, and sports. The PC gaming market's best-selling genres were role-playing, strategy, and casual. For online games, the most popular genres are puzzle/trivia, action/strategy, and casual/social games. While there are many American video game developers that have been producing games for years, Japanese video games and companies have regularly been listed in the annual lists of best sellers. In December 2022, American consumers spent $7.6 billion on video gaming content, hardware, and accessories, up 2% from the previous month and bringing total expenditure for the year to $56.6 billion. The unit sales growth featured a similar drop with the report of 188 million units sold from 245.9 in 2021. U.S. gaming consumers spent a total of $20.77 billion on the game industry alone and currently hard copies of video games are still dominating in sales compared to digital copies. 2022 saw inexorable expansion in the gaming sector, particularly in online and mobile gaming. A fundamental shift in mentality is also occurring, with games now being viewed as venues for creativity, self-expression, and socialization. While major IT firms are developing their own meta-universes, new gaming technologies such as AR, VR, and MR are changing the industry.
Best-selling video games by year
The following titles are the top-selling video game titles in the United States annually since 1980, with sales figures from The NPD Group since 1994. Among the 41 reported annual top-sellers between 1980 and 2022, thirteen were published by Nintendo, twelve by Activision Blizzard, four each by Atari and Take-Two Interactive, three by Electronic Arts, and two each by Sega and Acclaim Entertainment. YearTop-selling titleDeveloperPublisherPlatform(s)1980Space InvadersTaitoAtariAtari VCS1981 Via 1982Pac-ManNamco, Atari1983Ms. Pac-ManGCC, Midway1986Super Mario Bros.Nintendo R&D4NintendoNES1987The Legend of Zelda1988Super Mario Bros./Duck HuntNintendo19891990Super Mario Bros. 3Nintendo R&D41991Sonic the HedgehogSonic TeamSegaGenesis1992Sonic the Hedgehog 2Sega1993Mortal KombatMidwayAcclaim1994Donkey Kong CountryRareNintendoSNES19951996Super Mario 64Nintendo EADNintendoN641997Mario Kart 641998The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time1999Pokémon Red / Blue / YellowGame FreakNintendoGame Boy2000Pokémon Gold / SilverGame FreakNintendoGBC2001Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal2002Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityRockstar NorthTake-Two InteractivePS22003Madden NFL 2004EA TiburonElectronic Arts2004Grand Theft Auto: San AndreasRockstar NorthTake-Two Interactive2005Madden NFL 06EA TiburonElectronic Arts2006Madden NFL 072007Halo 3BungieMicrosoft Game StudiosXbox 3602008Wii PlayNintendo EADNintendoWii2009Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Infinity WardActivision BlizzardMulti-platform2010Call of Duty: Black OpsTreyarch2011Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games2012Call of Duty: Black Ops IITreyarch2013Grand Theft Auto VRockstar NorthTake-Two Interactive2014Call of Duty: Advanced WarfareSledgehammer GamesActivision Blizzard2015Call of Duty: Black Ops IIITreyarch2016Call of Duty: Infinite WarfareInfinity Ward2017Call of Duty: WWIISledgehammer Games2018Red Dead Redemption 2Rockstar StudiosTake-Two Interactive2019Call of Duty: Modern WarfareInfinity WardActivision Blizzard2020Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarTreyarch, Raven Software2021Call of Duty: VanguardSledgehammer Games2022Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IIInfinity Ward2023Hogwarts LegacyAvalanche SoftwareWarner Bros. Games2024Call of Duty: Black Ops 6Treyarch, Raven SoftwareMicrosoft Gaming2025Battlefield 6Battlefield StudiosElectronic Arts
Best-selling PlayStation games The following titles are the best-selling games of all time on PlayStation consoles, according to Circana as of 2025. +Gross revenueRankTitleYearDeveloperPublisher1Grand Theft Auto V2013Rockstar NorthTake-Two Interactive2Call of Duty: Modern Warfare2019Infinity WardActivision Blizzard3Red Dead Redemption 22018Rockstar StudiosTake-Two Interactive4Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II2022Infinity WardActivision Blizzard5Call of Duty: Black Ops 62024Treyarch, Raven SoftwareMicrosoft Gaming6Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War2020Treyarch, Raven SoftwareActivision Blizzard7Minecraft2011Mojang StudiosMicrosoft Gaming8Call of Duty: Black Ops II2012TreyarchActivision Blizzard9Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas2004Rockstar NorthTake-Two Interactive10Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock2007NeversoftActivision +Unit salesRankTitleYearDeveloperPublisher1Grand Theft Auto V2013Rockstar NorthTake-Two Interactive2Minecraft2011Mojang StudiosMicrosoft Gaming3Red Dead Redemption 22018Rockstar StudiosTake-Two Interactive4Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas2004Rockstar NorthTake-Two Interactive5Call of Duty: Modern Warfare2019Infinity WardActivision Blizzard6Marvel's Spider-Man2018Insomniac GamesSony Interactive Entertainment7Call of Duty: Black Ops III2015TreyarchActivision Blizzard8Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War2020Treyarch, Raven SoftwareActivision Blizzard9Grand Theft Auto: Vice City2002Rockstar NorthTake-Two Interactive10Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II2022Infinity WardActivision Blizzard
History
1940s
The beginning of video games can be traced to the year 1940, when American nuclear physicist Edward Condon designed a computer capable of playing the traditional game Nim. This device would have tens of thousands of people play it even though the computer won 90% of the time. Seven years later an American television pioneer, Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr., patented an oscilloscope displayed device that challenged players to fire a gun at a target."Video Game History Timeline ." ICHEG. International Center for the History of Electronic Games, n.d. Web. October 10, 2013.
1950s At the start of the 1950s another American, Claude Shannon, wrote basic guidelines on programming a computer. Although OXO was created in England by the year 1952, the findings and inventions of the Americans described helped make it possible.Cohen, D. S. 'OXO Aka Noughts and Crosses - The First Video Game"," "About.com"n.d. Web. October 15, 2013. Retrieved on November 5, 2013 The U.S. military dove into the computer age with the creation of a game titled Hutspiel. Considered a war game, Hutspiel depicted NATO and Soviet commanders waging war. The IBM 701 computer received programs such as Blackjack and Checkers. A later IBM model featured a chess program that was capable of evaluating four ply ahead. The 1950s also included the largely forgotten tennis game created by Willy Higinbotham that anticipated the famous game Pong.
1960s The military continued to take part in video gaming in the 1960s when, shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Defense Department created a war game known as STAGE (Simulation of Total Atomic Global Exchange). STAGE was created to be political propaganda that showcased how the U.S. would be victorious in a Thermonuclear war with the Soviet Union. The idea of video games that were usable on televisions was conceived by the engineer Ralph Baer and with the help of a team, Baer completed two successful TV games in this decade. The first interactive media computer game, Spacewar, eventually had the future founders of Atari create an arcade game of it titled Computer Space that became the first video arcade game ever released.Kudler, Amanda. "Timeline: Video Games."," Infoplease, 2007. Retrieved on November 3, 2013.
1970s