The UK gaming market saw a record year in 2018, reaching £5.7 billion and growing by 10% on the year previous.

Growth across the game software and hardware markets was “solid”, according to gaming industry trade body, Ukie, with software revenues rising above £4 billion for the first time ever.

Data from IHS Markit highlighted a significant increase in digital and online revenues in the software market, rising 20.3% to a record £2.01 billion.

Popular battle royale games, such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite, played a key role in the growth of this market, IHS Markit suggested, with both titles encompassing a combined 50% of all UK software revenues.

Consoles also fared well throughout 2018 despite no new systems being released, with sales rising 6.5% to £702 million.

The virtual reality market, however, saw a significant decrease in sales on the year previous; falling 20%. This revenue dip is due to early adopters of VR awaiting the next generation of headsets, according to Ukie.

“The nascent VR hardware market saw a more difficult year according to IHS Markit’s analysis, dropping -20.9% to £72m as early adopters await the next generation of headsets,” the trade body said.

Despite a significant decrease in revenue, the hardware market overall still prospered. In 2018 it saw growth of 10.7%, taking it to a record high of £1.57 billion.

This valuation, Ukie said, also included an “analysis of consumer spend on wider game-related culture” which generated an additional £109.6 billion.

Game related films and music saw a strong year, according to data from the British Film Institute and Official Charts Company. The release of Tomb Raider and Rampage at the box office, as well as the demand for video game soundtracks, lifted revenues by more than 30% to £23.6 million.