Videogaming’s all-in bet: Can two titans lift a $58 billion industry?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Surefire hits are rare in the videogame industry. Even rarer is to have two coming in the same year.

That creates high stakes for the industry this year after a tough 2024. The new Nintendo Switch console and a sequel to the blockbuster “Grand Theft Auto" franchise are both expected to be massive hits when they launch later this year. But the halo effect for other game makers will be limited.

And if either release date slips—or the products themselves disappoint—the videogame industry could be in for another growth slump. Total U.S. videogame revenue fell 1% last year to $58.7 billion, according to market-research firm Circana.

That follows a gain of only 1% in 2023—and a 5% decline the year before that. Anticipation is still high. The first Nintendo Switch has now sold just over 150 million units to become the company’s bestselling console of all time, outselling the Wii by 48%.

Nintendo also has gone eight years without a new console, a company record dating at least to the days of its NES system from the mid-1980s. Take-Two, meanwhile, has gone nearly 12 years since the last GTA game hit the streets. That game has sold more than 210 million units since its 2013 release, which is widely ranked as among the top five selling games of all time.

The console and game are widely regarded as surefire hits in an industry that offers precious few of those. Indeed, even long-established and successful game franchises are no longer immune to costly stumbles. Electronic Arts warned investors in mid-January of a surprising shortfall in its soccer videogame business now anchored by “EA Sports FC." The franchise once known as “FIFA" has been releasing annual titles since 1993 and is the company’s