Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/research-trends/g2a-gaming-gift-card-purchases-h1-2026-growth/ --- description: G2A reports faster growth in gaming gift cards than gaming items overall, with UK card and voucher purchases up 92%. The figures cover its marketplace. title: G2A gaming gift-card purchases rise 64% in H1 2026 image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/g2a-reports-64-growth-gaming-gift-card-purchases-first-half-2026-b2c9932c9a308504aa29424d39ba8b70.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) # G2A reports 64% growth in gaming gift-card purchases in first half of 2026 Gaming gift-card purchases grew faster than gaming items overall on G2A in H1 2026\. The marketplace figures track purchase activity, not worldwide market value. By [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) July 8, 2026 4 min read [ Google News ](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=giftcard.news&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fg2a-gaming-gift-card-purchases-h1-2026-growth%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=G2A+reports+64%25+growth+in+gaming+gift-card+purchases+in+first+half+of+2026&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fg2a-gaming-gift-card-purchases-h1-2026-growth%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=G2A+reports+64%25+growth+in+gaming+gift-card+purchases+in+first+half+of+2026+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fg2a-gaming-gift-card-purchases-h1-2026-growth%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![G2A.COM newsroom illustration showing its logo and search field over a person using a laptop](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/g2a-reports-64-growth-gaming-gift-card-purchases-first-half-2026-com-w1280.webp) G2A.COM source illustration accompanying its report on first-half 2026 gaming gift-card and voucher purchases. Photo: G2A.COM, source illustration [G2A.COM](https://giftcard.news/company/g2a-com/) reported a 64% year-on-year increase in gaming gift-card purchases on its marketplace during the first half of 2026, a faster rate than the 25% growth it recorded across gaming-related items overall. The comparison identifies prepaid gaming value as a particularly active part of its own marketplace, while leaving the wider industry's growth rate unmeasured. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) The company said worldwide gaming gift-card purchases rose from more than one million to over 1.7 million. In the UK, purchases of gaming gift cards and vouchers increased 92%, from more than 85,000 to over 160,000\. Those totals are rounded; the reported growth percentages should not be reconstructed as if the published endpoints were exact. ## Gift cards outpaced G2A’s global gaming category G2A sells digital entertainment products, with gift cards sitting alongside games, subscriptions and downloadable content. Its broader gaming-related measure includes games, vouchers, downloadable content and gaming gift cards. The 64% and 25% growth rates therefore compare a gift-card category with a wider group of products on the same marketplace. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) The data behind the story ### Global gift-card purchases grew faster G2A-reported purchase-count growth in its global marketplace, first half of 2026 compared with first half of 2025. Year-on-year purchase growth % Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table. Source G2A.COM: original H1 2026 marketplace disclosure The wider category includes gift cards and vouchers as well as games and downloadable content. These overlapping categories are growth comparisons, not additive market shares. Figures describe G2A purchases, not industry-wide spending, loaded value or operator revenue; no audit or cohort controls are disclosed. Show data tableHide data table Scroll left or right to see all columns __Global gift-card purchases grew faster (%)__ | Category | Year-on-year purchase growth | | ------------------------------ | ---------------------------- | | Gaming gift cards and vouchers | 64% | | All gaming-related items | 25% | For distributors and gaming brands, the results indicate where activity is growing within this sales channel. They do not show gift cards' share of global gaming expenditure, the value loaded onto those cards or the revenue earned from selling them. A count of purchases can rise without an equivalent increase in value if the mix of denominations or products changes; G2A did not publish that mix. Razer Gold, PlayStation Network and Steam remained among G2A's most popular gaming gift cards during the period. The company reported increased activity around platform promotions, including Steam Sales and Steam's Medieval Fest, alongside major releases. It did not provide a ranking by purchase value or quantify the contribution of each event to the half-year increase. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) Platform credit can fund more than one type of purchase. Steam’s own gift-card page, checked October 19, describes gift value that can be redeemed for games, software, hardware and other items sold on Steam. That confirms the flexibility of one named platform’s product; it does not independently verify G2A’s transaction counts or establish that all products sold by G2A have identical regional or redemption rules. [\[S02\]](#article-source-2) G2A chief business officer [Katarzyna Jakubiec](https://giftcard.news/person/katarzyna-jakubiec/) interpreted the growth as evidence that players were planning spending across a wider mix of releases, subscriptions and additional content. She said gift cards gave customers control over budgets and when to spend. That is the company's explanation of the observed purchases. The announcement does not describe a customer survey or other evidence that directly measures buyers' motives. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) ## The UK showed a larger category gap The UK showed a similar difference. Total gaming-related purchases there increased 39%, from more than 550,000 to almost 800,000, against the 92% increase in gaming gift cards and vouchers. Germany's broader gaming-related purchases grew 40%, from more than 650,000 to over 900,000\. The release does not provide a corresponding German gift-card growth figure. The data behind the story ### UK gift-card purchases grew faster G2A-reported purchase-count growth in the UK, first half of 2026 compared with first half of 2025. Year-on-year purchase growth % Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table. Source G2A.COM: original H1 2026 marketplace disclosure The wider category includes gift cards and vouchers as well as games and downloadable content. These overlapping categories are growth comparisons, not additive market shares. Figures describe G2A purchases, not industry-wide spending, loaded value or operator revenue; no audit or cohort controls are disclosed. Show data tableHide data table Scroll left or right to see all columns __UK gift-card purchases grew faster (%)__ | Category | Year-on-year purchase growth | | ------------------------------ | ---------------------------- | | Gaming gift cards and vouchers | 92% | | All gaming-related items | 39% | Germany’s 40% increase concerns the broader gaming-related category. The release does not give a German gift-card growth rate, so the evidence does not support a country ranking for gift-card growth or an assumption that the UK result represents other markets. The disclosed numbers cover the first six months of 2026 and comparisons with the same period a year earlier. The company does not report how much growth came from additional buyers, more frequent purchases by existing buyers or changes in the products available. It also supplies no gift-card denomination data, redemption timing or independent market benchmark. G2A also expects major releases, Black Friday and Christmas to sustain activity later in 2026\. That statement is an outlook, not an observed half-year result. Its account of budgeting motives is management’s interpretation of marketplace activity, rather than a disclosed consumer survey. The clearest finding is consequently the difference between categories within G2A: gaming gift-card purchases grew substantially faster than its wider gaming-related activity, with an especially large reported increase in the UK. Establishing whether that reflects a broader change across the gaming gift-card market would require comparable evidence from other channels. ## In this article ### Companies * [G2A.COM](https://giftcard.news/company/g2a-com/) ### People * [Katarzyna Jakubiec](https://giftcard.news/person/katarzyna-jakubiec/) ### Sources and documents * [\[S01\] G2A.COM H1 2026 gaming gift-card and voucher marketplace data, original publication July 8, 2026](https://www.g2a.co/global-gaming-gift-card-and-vouchers-demand-rises-64-as-players-embrace-more-flexible-digital-spending/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — G2A.COM * [\[S02\] Steam gift-card spending mechanism, checked October 19, 2026](https://store.steampowered.com/digitalgiftcards/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — Valve / Steam Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fg2a-gaming-gift-card-purchases-h1-2026-growth%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=G2A+reports+64%25+growth+in+gaming+gift-card+purchases+in+first+half+of+2026&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fg2a-gaming-gift-card-purchases-h1-2026-growth%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=G2A+reports+64%25+growth+in+gaming+gift-card+purchases+in+first+half+of+2026+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fg2a-gaming-gift-card-purchases-h1-2026-growth%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/oliver-reed-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) Journalist — Industry Deals & Research Oliver Reed covers industry acquisitions, investment and market research for Gift Card News. From reading to building ## Your next move in gift cards. Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers. [Find a provider ](https://giftcard.news/find-a-provider/) ## Related articles [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News ### [InComm’s holiday survey puts gift cards first in U.S. purchase plans](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-2026-holiday-gift-card-purchase-plans/) [Emma Carter](https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/) October 21, 2026 5 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News ### [Gift cards lead NRF’s 2026 holiday wish list at 47%](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/nrf-2026-holiday-gift-card-wish-list/) [Emma Carter](https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/) October 20, 2026 3 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News ### [iGift’s three-brand index records a lower Roblox discount in week 42](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/igift-week42-2026-gift-card-discount-index/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) October 19, 2026 4 min ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher","name":"Gift Card News","url":"https://giftcard.news/","description":"News and analysis covering gift cards, retail, loyalty, rewards and payments worldwide.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/icon-512.png","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/icon-512.png","width":512,"height":512,"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#logo"},"publishingPrinciples":"https://giftcard.news/editorial-policy/","correctionsPolicy":"https://giftcard.news/editorial-policy/"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#website","url":"https://giftcard.news/","name":"Gift Card News","description":"News and analysis covering gift cards, retail, loyalty, rewards and payments worldwide.","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://giftcard.news/search/?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/#person","name":"Oliver Reed","url":"https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/","description":"Oliver Reed covers industry acquisitions, investment and market research for Gift Card News.","jobTitle":"Journalist — Industry Deals & Research","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/oliver-reed-editorial-portrait.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/oliver-reed-editorial-portrait.webp","width":1254,"height":1254,"caption":"Illustrated portrait representing the Oliver Reed editorial profile.","@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/oliver-reed-editorial-portrait.webp#image","encodingFormat":"image/webp","description":"Illustrated portrait for Oliver Reed, Gift Card News","creditText":"Gift Card News / AI-generated illustration"}},{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/g2a-reports-64-growth-gaming-gift-card-purchases-first-half-2026-com.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/g2a-reports-64-growth-gaming-gift-card-purchases-first-half-2026-com.webp","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"G2A.COM source illustration accompanying its report on first-half 2026 gaming gift-card and voucher purchases.","@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/g2a-reports-64-growth-gaming-gift-card-purchases-first-half-2026-com.webp#image","encodingFormat":"image/webp","description":"G2A.COM newsroom illustration showing its logo and search field over a person using a laptop","creditText":"G2A.COM, source illustration","isBasedOn":"https://www.g2a.co/global-gaming-gift-card-and-vouchers-demand-rises-64-as-players-embrace-more-flexible-digital-spending/"},{"@type":"Dataset","@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/g2a-gaming-gift-card-purchases-h1-2026-growth/#dataset","url":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/g2a-gaming-gift-card-purchases-h1-2026-growth/","name":"G2A reports 64% growth in gaming gift-card purchases in first half of 2026: figure data","description":"Tabular data for the figures accompanying \"G2A reports 64% growth in gaming gift-card purchases in first half of 2026\". 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