Heritage Auctions sold a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for $3 million on June 12, 2026, eclipsing the previous world record for a video game by $1 million. The everyday version of that market runs on discs, and Sony stops pressing them in January 2028. This post covers market size, platform and regional splits, disc supply, GameStop’s category sales and auction results.
Used Game Resale
How Big Is The Used Game Resale Market?
Dataintelo values the global second hand game platform market at $7.2 billion for 2025 and projects $13.8 billion by 2034, a compound annual rate of 7.5% across 2026 to 2034.
The scope matters. Dataintelo counts pre-owned games, consoles, accessories and gaming peripherals across console, PC and mobile, so this is not a games-only figure.
The same report puts pre-owned copies at a 40% to 60% discount against new AAA console titles, which it prices above $69.99 in North America in 2025. That gap is what sustains demand for older and second-hand titles even as new releases move to download.
| Year | Second hand game platform market value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $4.6 billion | Historical |
| 2021 | $5.4 billion | Historical |
| 2023 | $6.3 billion | Historical |
| 2025 | $7.2 billion | Base year |
| 2027 | $8.4 billion | Forecast |
| 2029 | $9.7 billion | Forecast |
| 2031 | $11.3 billion | Forecast |
| 2034 | $13.8 billion | Forecast |
Source: Dataintelo, Second Hand Game Platform Market Research Report 2034, base year 2025, updated March 2026
Used Game Resale By Platform And Region
Console leads platform types at 42.3% of 2025 revenue, which Dataintelo puts at $3.05 billion. PC follows at 31.8%, and mobile at 25.9%.
Dataintelo attributes the mobile line mostly to pre-owned handsets and tablets rather than individual game titles, a split worth holding in mind when comparing mobile and console revenue in the new-sales market.
| Platform type | Share of 2025 revenue |
|---|---|
| Console | 42.3% |
| PC | 31.8% |
| Mobile | 25.9% |
Source: Dataintelo, Second Hand Game Platform Market Research Report 2034, 2025
North America holds 36.8% of 2025 revenue, or $2.65 billion. Europe takes 28.3% and Asia Pacific 24.6%.
Online stores account for 58.4% of revenue against 41.6% for physical stores. Individual buyers make up 78.6%, with commercial buyers such as gaming cafes and rental businesses at 21.4%.
| Region | Share of 2025 revenue |
|---|---|
| North America | 36.8% |
| Europe | 28.3% |
| Asia Pacific | 24.6% |
| Latin America | 5.7% |
| Middle East & Africa | 4.6% |
Source: Dataintelo, Second Hand Game Platform Market Research Report 2034, 2025
Physical Disc Supply Behind Used Game Resale
US spending on new physical game software reached about $1.6 billion in the 12 months ending May 2026, up 3% year on year. Circana records that as the first annual increase since 2009, when the same measure peaked at $11.5 billion.
Circana senior director Mat Piscatella credited the gain to Nintendo Switch 2, with physical software on Nintendo platforms up around 26%, and described the rise as likely temporary. Every other ecosystem kept falling by double-digit percentages.
| Period | US new physical game software spending |
|---|---|
| 12 months ending May 2009 | $11.5 billion |
| 12 months ending May 2025 | About $1.5 billion |
| 12 months ending May 2026 | About $1.6 billion |
Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service, reported by Mat Piscatella, June 2026
PlayStation is the sharpest case. Seven PlayStation games had sold more than 100,000 physical units in the US year to date as of July 20, 2026, and two sold more than 10,000 units in the week ending July 11, 2026, covering all games, all publishers and all PlayStation platforms.
PlayStation Digital Download Ratio
Sony’s full-game software digital download ratio for PS4 and PS5 averaged 78% across fiscal 2025, up from 76% in fiscal 2024. It reached 85% in the January to March 2026 quarter and sat at 82% in April to June 2026 on 66.1 million full-game units, figures Sony publishes each quarter in its PlayStation business data.
| Quarter | Full game software digital download ratio |
|---|---|
| Q1 FY2025 (Apr–Jun 2025) | 83% |
| Q2 FY2025 (Jul–Sep 2025) | 72% |
| Q3 FY2025 (Oct–Dec 2025) | 76% |
| Q4 FY2025 (Jan–Mar 2026) | 85% |
| Q1 FY2026 (Apr–Jun 2026) | 82% |
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment quarterly business data, Q1 FY2025 to Q1 FY2026
Sony announced on July 1, 2026 that disc production for new PlayStation games ends in January 2028. Titles released before the cutoff stay on disc, which is the same access question raised in abandonware and preservation research.
Wedbush Securities managing director Michael Pachter told CNBC that at least a third of games have historically sold used, and that trade-in credit funded new purchases. Morningstar equity research director Kazunori Ito expects the second-hand market to keep shrinking and eventually disappear once new PlayStation titles stop appearing on disc.
GameStop And The Used Game Resale Counter
GameStop reports new and pre-owned games in a single software line, so that category is the closest public read on its trade-in business. It fell to $729.3 million in fiscal 2025 from $1,005.4 million in fiscal 2024.
Software slipped to 20.1% of net sales from 26.3%. Collectibles moved the other way, rising to $1,060.2 million and passing software to become the second-largest category.
| Category | Fiscal 2024 | Fiscal 2025 | FY2025 share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware and accessories | $2,099.7M | $1,840.4M | 50.7% |
| Software | $1,005.4M | $729.3M | 20.1% |
| Collectibles | $717.9M | $1,060.2M | 29.2% |
| Total net sales | $3,823.0M | $3,629.9M | 100.0% |
Source: GameStop Corp. Form 10-K, 52 weeks ended January 31, 2026 and 52 weeks ended February 1, 2025
The counter itself is thinning. GameStop closed 727 US stores in fiscal 2025 and ended the year with 2,206 stores worldwide, down from 3,203, with 1,598 in the United States.
The company says it does not anticipate closing a significant number of stores in fiscal 2026. Its trade-in programme now covers graded trading cards alongside games, mobility and consumer electronics, which sits oddly next to the growth in subscription access that removes the need to own a copy at all.
Collector Prices Above The Used Game Resale Floor
Heritage Auctions realized $5,030,231 from 666 bidders in its June 12 to 13, 2026 Video Games Signature Auction, more than double its March 2026 sale. A sealed Super Mario Bros. graded PSA 9.6 accounted for $3 million of it.
Bidder counts did not drive that total. The March 2026 sale drew 852 bidders and realized $1,987,339, while the June sale drew fewer bidders and a single record lot.
| Video Games Signature Auction | Total realized | Bidders |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 21–22, 2025 | $1,634,000 | 792 |
| May 23–24, 2025 | $2,726,156 | 885 |
| Aug 22–23, 2025 | $1,995,588 | 867 |
| Nov 21–22, 2025 | $1,457,108 | 690 |
| Mar 27–28, 2026 | $1,987,339 | 852 |
| Jun 12–13, 2026 | $5,030,231 | 666 |
Source: Heritage Auctions past auction results, February 2025 to June 2026
This tier is small next to the $7.2 billion mass market and moves independently of it. Graded sealed copies cannot be replaced, while the ordinary disc pool that supplies trade-in counters keeps thinning, a scarcity dynamic that also shapes emulation and retro handheld demand.
FAQs
How big is the used game resale market?
Dataintelo values the global second hand game platform market at $7.2 billion for 2025, covering pre-owned games, consoles, accessories and peripherals. It projects $13.8 billion by 2034 at a 7.5% compound annual rate.
What do Reddit users mean when they say discs are the last resale option?
A disc can be resold, lent or traded for store credit, while a digital licence is tied to an account. Sony ends disc production for new PlayStation games in January 2028.
Are used games cheaper than new ones, as Reddit buyers claim?
Dataintelo puts pre-owned copies at a 40% to 60% discount in 2025, measured against new AAA console titles priced above $69.99 in North America.
How many physical PlayStation games still sell in the US?
Seven PlayStation games passed 100,000 physical units year to date as of July 20, 2026, per Circana’s Retail Tracking Service. Two passed 10,000 units in the week ending July 11, 2026.
What is the most expensive video game ever sold at auction?
A sealed Super Mario Bros. graded PSA 9.6 realized $3 million at Heritage Auctions on June 12, 2026. Heritage described it as eclipsing the previous world record by $1 million.
Sources
https://dataintelo.com/report/global-second-hand-game-platform-market
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326380/000132638026000013/gme-20260131.htm
https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-schedule.s?category=video-games&view=past
https://www.circana.com/industries/video-games