Game On: U.S. game spending jumps 12% in March, says Circana

“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.

NEW RELEASES: Among this week’s most notable new releases is Sony‘s (SONY) action game “Saros,” which launches exclusively for PlayStation 5 on April 30. Also out this week is Blizzard’s (MSFT) “Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred,” a major expansion for 2023’s “Diablo IV,” which launches April 28 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

CIRCANA MARCH: Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said that U.S. video game spending jumped 12% in March, driven by console content and hardware. Pearl Abyss’ “Crimson Desert,” Sony’s “MLB The Show 26,” and Nintendo’s (NTDOY) “Pokemon Pokopia” were among several new releases fueling overall spending growth. U.S. projected total market video game spending reached $5.3B in March 2026, a 12% increase when compared to March 2025. First quarter spending grew 5% when compared to a year ago, to $14.6B. March hardware spending grew by 69% when compared to a year ago, to $500M. Nintendo Switch 2 drove the overall gain, while PlayStation 5 spending increased by 3% compared to March 2025. Nintendo Switch 2 was the best-selling hardware platform across units and dollars for both March and 2026 year-to-date, with PlayStation 5 ranking 2nd across both measures and time periods. Through each console’s first 10 months in market, unit sales of Nintendo Switch 2 are 12% higher than Nintendo Switch. It remains the 2nd fastest selling hardware platform in U.S. tracked history, which dates back to 1995.

March video game content spending increased by 8% versus a year ago, to $4.6B. Console content spending grew 22%, driven by a 40% gain in digital premium downloads. PC, Cloud and Non-Console VR content spending surged 28%, while non-mobile subscription climbed 20%. “Crimson Desert,” “MLB The Show 26” and “Pokemon Pokopia” led all titles in total projected full game spending, with “MLB The Show 26” ranking 1st in combined physical and Digital Leader Panel participating publisher tracked digital sales. After just two months in market, Capcom’s (CCOEY) “Resident Evil Requiem” now ranks among the top five best-selling “Resident Evil” games in all-time U.S. dollar sales. It trails only “Resident Evil 5,” the 2023 remake of “Resident Evil 4,” “Resident Evil Village” and the original “Resident Evil 4.” Other top-selling games for the month in the U.S. were Take-Two’s (TTWO) “WWE 2K26,” Sony’s “Marathon,” Activision’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7,” and Capcom’s “Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection.”

ROBLOX SETTLEMENTS: Last week, Roblox (RBLX) reached settlements in three U.S. states, namely West Virginia, Alabama, and Nevada, over child safety protections. The company agreed to an $11M settlement with West Virginia, $12.2M settlement with Alabama, and $10M settlement with Nevada, with a portion of the total amount of settlement money going to safety education for children in those states. Roblox has also pledged to curb dangerous interactions on its platform as part of the settlements.

ROBLOX PRICE TARGETS: Last Wednesday, Goldman Sachs lowered the firm’s price target on Roblox to $125 from $140 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. Ahead of Q1 earnings, key debates around Roblox center on execution and engagement trends, alongside the company’s progress in expanding its presence in the global gaming market, the analyst tells investors in a research note, adding that intra-quarter data and ongoing platform initiatives continue to support the view that Roblox is scaling its long-term growth strategy and increasing its market penetration.

The same day, Deutsche Bank cut the firm’s price target on Roblox to $85 from $115 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm reduced Roblox’s estimates ahead of earnings to reflect engagement trends, but says the company’s subscription service is a plus.

Additionally, Wedbush lowered the firm’s price target on Roblox to $90 from $110 and reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares last week as well. The firm notes Roblox is down about 65% from its August 2025 peak of $165 and roughly 50% from its Q4 2025 preview, reflecting a market that has absorbed the daily average user and CCU deceleration visible in public data throughout the quarter.

MORE VIDEO GAME NEWS:

• Capcom’s “Resident Evil Requiem” has surpassed 7M units sold, TwistedVoxel reports
• Square Enix (SQNXF) said that “Final Fantasy XIV” will arrive on Switch 2 in August
• Ubisoft (UBSFY) said “Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced,” a remake of 2013’s “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag,” will release on July 9
• Christopher McQuarrie and Michael B. Jordan are pitching a film based on EA‘s (EA) “Battlefield,” according to The Hollywood Reporter