The US video game industry generated $30.4 billion in revenue in 2016 according to the latest data from video game industry tracker NPD Group and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The figure, which includes revenue from hardware, software, in-game purchases and peripherals, is up ever so slightly from the $30.2 billion the industry generated in 2015.

Delving in deeper, the ESA notes that revenue from video game software - which includes physical packaged goods, downloadable content, mobile games and subscriptions - grew to $24.5 billion last year, a six percent increase over the $23.2 billion earned a year earlier.

Indeed, it was a solid year for gaming as a whole. Virtual reality finally went mainstream with the launch of the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR, mobile gamers enjoyed the phenomenon that was Pokémon Go and console gamers were immersed with blockbusters like Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Tom Clancy's The Division, Madden NFL 17 and NBA 2K17. Even retro gamers got in on the action courtesy of the NES Classic Edition.

Interestingly enough, the PC platform was the most diverse and dynamic of all growth platforms with a record number of game launches in 2016.

Mat Piscatella, an industry analyst with the NPD Group, said consumers have more options to purchase and enjoy entertainment software than ever before. Likewise, developers have more and easier ways of delivering content. No matter the delivery platform, Piscatella concluded, entertainment software has never been more engaging, diverse or accessible.