The State of PC Gaming: The Shift from Packaged Goods to Digital Distribution

The video game industry is undergoing a fundamental shift from a traditional business model reliant on the sale of packaged goods and perpetual licensing, to one dominated by digital distribution and new forms of monetization. With unit sales of game downloads surpassing physical purchases, the transition to digital is creating tremendous opportunities for game developers, publishers, retailers, and device makers.

In this rapidly changing landscape, how can industry players evolve their offerings to better meet changes in consumer expectations and buying behavior? In this research study 505 US adults over the age of 18 who had played a downloaded or boxed PC or Mac game in the previous month were polled to examine consumer attitudes and behaviors toward PC and Mac games.