{"id":1787812,"date":"2026-02-23T12:36:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1787812"},"modified":"2026-02-23T12:36:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:36:20","slug":"even-though-many-developers-are-being-laid-off-consumer-spending-in-gaming-was-actually-up-in-january-2026-new-report-reveals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1787812","title":{"rendered":"Even though many developers are being laid off, consumer spending in gaming was actually up in January 2026, new report reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/call-of-duty-black-ops-7\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Call of Duty: Black Ops 7<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Even though many developers are being laid off, consumer spending in gaming was actually up in January 2026, new report reveals<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Subscription services are behind the boost.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Black-Ops-7_gunfight.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"CoD Black Ops 7 gunfight\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Black-Ops-7_gunfight.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Activision<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-02-23T12:36:20+00:00\">Feb. 23, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/january-2026-us-consumer-spending-on-video-games-was-up?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          19 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"c99daa07-d790-41ab-a9c0-750d6800dab8\" data-name=\"Call of Duty: Black Ops 7\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Call of Duty: Black Ops 7\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Call of Duty: Black Ops 7\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Call of Duty: Black Ops 7\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Call of Duty: Black Ops 7\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Call of Duty: Black Ops 7\" title=\"Follow Call of Duty: Black Ops 7\"><br \/>\n  Follow Call of Duty: Black Ops 7<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The vibes are rotten out there if you work anywhere near video games. 2026 is yet another year off to a terrible start when it comes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ubisoft-is-laying-off-40-devs-at-studio-working-on-splinter-cell-remake-but-confirms-the-game-is-still-in-production\">layoffs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ubisofts-troubled-prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-remake-is-dead-as-publisher-kills-multiple-projects-closes-studios-and-orders-staff-back-to-the-office\">project cancellations<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-closes-acclaimed-demons-souls-and-shadow-of-the-colossus-remake-studio-bluepoint-despite-acknowledging-it-had-delivered-exceptional-experiences-for-the-playstation-community\">studio closures that often don&#8217;t make a lick of sense<\/a>. Despite all this, though, US consumer spending on video games has gone up year-on-year.<\/p>\n<p>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesindustry.biz\/us-video-game-spending-rose-3-in-january-driven-by-596m-from-subscription-services-us-monthly-charts\">GamesIndustry.biz<\/a>, we&#8217;ve gotten a quick look at Circana&#8217;s latest data on console and PC content spending during January 2026. The year-on-year rise was of 3% (getting it to $4.3 billion by last month). &#8220;This growth was driven by a 23% increase in non-mobile subscription services, generating $596 million in revenue.&#8221; We&#8217;d been hearing for a while that, even after price increases across the board, premium subscription services were driving a lot of growth these days, and the data continues to back those assessments up.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Hardware spend reached $248 million, up 16% compared to January 2025&#8221; despite PS5 (down 17%), Xbox Series X\/S (down 27%), and Nintendo Switch (down 79%) all seeing substantial year-on-year declines. It&#8217;s all explained by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/platforms\/switch-2\">Nintendo Switch 2<\/a>&#8216;s strong launch period and hold despite a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/nintendo-source-blames-switch-2-holiday-sales-slowdown-on-the-economic-landscape-and-the-absence-of-a-major-western-game-despite-the-release-of-metroid-prime-4-beyond\">slower-than-desirable Christmas season<\/a>. PS5 continued to be leading in the US market, though.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps more shocking (at least to disgruntled Call of Duty fans and outsiders) is that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/call-of-duty-black-ops-7-review\">Black Ops 7<\/a> has been topping the charts during the January 2026 period. Its initial launch was well below Microsoft and Xbox&#8217;s high expectations, but we&#8217;re talking about CoD here, and the IP continues to be <em>the<\/em> rival to beat in the FPS space. It was followed by NBA 2K26, Madden NFL 26, and Minecraft. &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/battlefield-6-review\">Battlefield 6<\/a> dropped from No. 3 to No. 5&#8243; but continues to perform strongly after its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/battlefield-6-sold-record-shattering-7-million-copies-in-3-days-giving-eas-shooter-franchise-its-best-ever-launch\">killer launch<\/a> back in October.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Other highlights include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/final-fantasy-7-remake-review-a-faithful-remake-with-a-few-missteps-along-the-way\">Final Fantasy 7 Remake<\/a> sneaking into the Top 10 (from way down at No. 255!) after the release of its fantastic Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X\/S ports. Shocking few gamers, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fallout-4\">Fallout 4<\/a> just made it into the Top 20, rising from No.68 after the second season of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/fallout-showrunner-teases-ron-perlman-role-in-future-seasons\">Prime Video&#8217;s adaptation<\/a>.&#8221; Chances are the modern RPG classic will get another boost after its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/fallout-4-and-indiana-jones-switch-2-release-dates-leak-ahead-of-nintendo-direct\">Switch 2 port<\/a> arrives tomorrow, 24th February.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The vibes are rotten out there if you work anywhere near video games. 2026 is yet another year off to a terrible start when it comes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ubisoft-is-laying-off-40-devs-at-studio-working-on-splinter-cell-remake-but-confirms-the-game-is-still-in-production\">layoffs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ubisofts-troubled-prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-remake-is-dead-as-publisher-kills-multiple-projects-closes-studios-and-orders-staff-back-to-the-office\">project cancellations<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-closes-acclaimed-demons-souls-and-shadow-of-the-colossus-remake-studio-bluepoint-despite-acknowledging-it-had-delivered-exceptional-experiences-for-the-playstation-community\">studio closures that often don&#8217;t make a lick of sense<\/a>. Despite all this, though, US consumer spending on video games has gone up year-on-year.<\/p>\n<p>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesindustry.biz\/us-video-game-spending-rose-3-in-january-driven-by-596m-from-subscription-services-us-monthly-charts\">GamesIndustry.biz<\/a>, we&#8217;ve gotten a quick look at Circana&#8217;s latest data on console and PC content spending during January 2026. The year-on-year rise was of 3% (getting it to $4.3 billion by last month). &#8220;This growth was driven by a 23% increase in non-mobile subscription services, generating $596 million in revenue.&#8221; We&#8217;d been hearing for a while that, even after price increases across the board, premium subscription services were driving a lot of growth these days, and the data continues to back those assessments up.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Hardware spend reached $248 million, up 16% compared to January 2025&#8221; despite PS5 (down 17%), Xbox Series X\/S (down 27%), and Nintendo Switch (down 79%) all seeing substantial year-on-year declines. It&#8217;s all explained by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/platforms\/switch-2\">Nintendo Switch 2<\/a>&#8216;s strong launch period and hold despite a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/nintendo-source-blames-switch-2-holiday-sales-slowdown-on-the-economic-landscape-and-the-absence-of-a-major-western-game-despite-the-release-of-metroid-prime-4-beyond\">slower-than-desirable Christmas season<\/a>. PS5 continued to be leading in the US market, though.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps more shocking (at least to disgruntled Call of Duty fans and outsiders) is that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/call-of-duty-black-ops-7-review\">Black Ops 7<\/a> has been topping the charts during the January 2026 period. Its initial launch was well below Microsoft and Xbox&#8217;s high expectations, but we&#8217;re talking about CoD here, and the IP continues to be <em>the<\/em> rival to beat in the FPS space. It was followed by NBA 2K26, Madden NFL 26, and Minecraft. &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/battlefield-6-review\">Battlefield 6<\/a> dropped from No. 3 to No. 5&#8243; but continues to perform strongly after its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/battlefield-6-sold-record-shattering-7-million-copies-in-3-days-giving-eas-shooter-franchise-its-best-ever-launch\">killer launch<\/a> back in October.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Other highlights include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/final-fantasy-7-remake-review-a-faithful-remake-with-a-few-missteps-along-the-way\">Final Fantasy 7 Remake<\/a> sneaking into the Top 10 (from way down at No. 255!) after the release of its fantastic Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X\/S ports. Shocking few gamers, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fallout-4\">Fallout 4<\/a> just made it into the Top 20, rising from No.68 after the second season of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/fallout-showrunner-teases-ron-perlman-role-in-future-seasons\">Prime Video&#8217;s adaptation<\/a>.&#8221; Chances are the modern RPG classic will get another boost after its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/fallout-4-and-indiana-jones-switch-2-release-dates-leak-ahead-of-nintendo-direct\">Switch 2 port<\/a> arrives tomorrow, 24th February.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Even though many developers are being laid off, consumer spending in gaming was actually up in January 2026, new report reveals Subscription services are behind the boost. Image credit: Activision News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on Feb. 23, 2026 19 comments Follow Call of Duty: Black [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1787812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1787812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787812\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1787812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1787812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1787812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}