US physical game sales plummet, halved since 2021

Physical gaming sales in the US have halved since 2021. This change has been gradual but has seen a heavier push as internet speeds increase, live service games dominate the market, and in-app purchases become more popular.

Data shared on Bluesky by Mat Piscatella (via VGC) shows that 2024 continued a slowing trend of less people purchasing physical media. He circles it back to questioning whether or not this will be slowed or reversed with the release of the Switch 2.

As pointed out by VGC, part of the push toward digital games, especially within the Nintendo space, “weaker than normal” release schedule of Switch games, which often bolsters the numbers a bit. We unfortunately suspect this isn’t going to be totally reversed following the release of the Switch 2, rather it will be interesting to see the model Nintendo actually follows.

We already know most of the original Switch’s library will be playable on the new iteration, but plenty of Nintendo Switch games lack a physical cartridge, opting instead for a physical case plastered with a digital download code.

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger Editor-in-Chief

Gabe has been a gamer since he was young, playing games like Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Guitar Hero, and whatever looked cool on GameFly. Ever since 2018, he’s been infatuated with the inner workings of the gaming and entertainment industries, covering a wide range of topics from video games to TV and film. Starting as a contributor for PSX Extreme, he’s worked his way up to its Managing Editor. Using what’s he learned over the years, he founded Smash Jump to remind everyone to smash jump.