The spread of COVID-19 “had a limited impact on gaming habits in North America and Europe” in February, a recent SuperData report revealed, although that situation is very likely to change.
COVID-19’s light impact on the digital gaming space in the past month can be attributed to lockdowns and travel bans only coming into effect only during the month of March.
COVID-19 Impact Digital Gaming Space
As the situation surrounding the coronavirus worsens, we’re also starting to see major video game retail stores shutting down. In tandem with social distancing becoming more and more prevalent, this has already started to impact the digital gaming space.
“Many titles have since had an influx of players and spending as consumers have turned to games as one of the few entertainment options available.”, the SuperData report reads.
Steam itself reached a new concurrent user peak of 22,678,529 just this past weekend.
As far as revenue goes, the month of February saw a 4% increase over the same period in 2019, although the 16% higher year-over-year mobile revenue made up for lower PC (22%) and console revenue (6%).
The drop in PC and console revenue was attributed to a lack of major AAA releases. In contrast, 2019 had both Anthem and Apex Legends coming out during February.
As far as earnings go, League of Legends, Dungeon Fighter Online and Crossfire took the top 3 spots on PC, with FIFA 20, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Grand Theft Auto V earning the most from digital sales on consoles.
