Video games are a major driver of U.S. economic growth.
In 2024, U.S. video game sales totaled $58.7 billion – with approximately $5 billion of that spent on hardware and consoles. Sales on video game hardware supports U.S. jobs and generates significant tax dollars for American communities.
More than 350,000 American jobs are supported directly and indirectly by the video game industry.
The average video game industry compensation is $168,600, more than double the national average salary.
The video game industry generated $14.4 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2023.
Tariffs on video game products will affect a majority of Americans. 61% of the U.S. population – roughly 191 million Americans – play video games every week.
78% of U.S. households have played at least one video game device in the past 12 months, and more than half of players use more than one device to play video games during the week.
Video games aren’t just for kids – the average player is 36 years old and nearly one third (30%) of the silent generation (ages 78 and older) play video games.
72% of parents play video games regularly and 83% of those parents play with their children.
Imposing tariffs on video game hardware and software will cause harm to American consumers and the U.S. economy.
Proposed tariffs, and the risk of retaliatory and/or additional tariffs, will impact video game hardware and devices in multiple ways, from production to imports to minerals and chips manufacturing. Video game consoles are sold under tight margins in order to reduce the barrier to entry for consumers. Every effort is made to price the console at or slightly above cost to keep video game consoles affordable so more consumers can purchase them. Tariffs mean that the additional costs would be passed along to consumers, resulting in a ripple effect of harm for the industry and the jobs it generates and support.
A recent study by the Consumer Technology Association estimates that proposed tariffs could result in a price increase of at least 40% for consoles, which would likely result in reduced game sales overall.
This significant price increase would:
- Limit access to video games for American families.
- Reduce sales of video game hardware and software.
- Potentially eliminate American jobs in the video game industry.
- Decrease tax revenue at federal, state, and local levels.
Tariffs on video game hardware and software will negatively impact the industry’s significant contributions to innovation.
Today’s games, which are often as life-like and immersive as movies, are made possible with advanced software that are frequently capable of only being played on the latest consoles. Investments in research and development (R&D) allow companies to meet consumer demand and preferences for sophisticate games. Tariffs would make continued R&D in the latest technologies and related services much more difficult for U.S. video game companies.
Console manufacturers are not the only types of companies that would be affected by tariffs. The entire video game ecosystem—game publishers, developers, retailers, other vendors and service providers—would be affected by a decline in the sale of game consoles. U.S. companies that publish games to be played on consoles, particularly those small- and medium-sized companies, would be negatively impacted by tariffs on video game products. The prospect of poor sales and poor adoption of new technologies, including virtual and augmented reality, may deter smaller companies from making investments in R&D, putting American jobs at risk and damaging America’s foothold as a global leader in innovation.
Fair trade policies by the U.S. government will empower and protect the video game industry’s competitiveness and maintain its significant economic and cultural contributions to American society. Tariffs will have the opposite effect.
