Americans spent $12.4 billion on games in the second quarter of 2022.

That is according to new data from market research company NPD, which has reported a 13 percent year-on-year fall in spend in the US.

However, several factors have been cited as a possible explanation behind the fall, including the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions as well as an uncertain economic environment.

Shortages of semiconductor equipment have also complicated the situation.

The likes of Sony and Nintendo have recently posted modest financial results for the three months until the end of June.

And Hiroki Totoki - Sony’s chief financial officer - said in a call in July: "The growth of the overall game market has recently decelerated as opportunities have increased for users to get out of [the] home as COVID-19 infections have subsided in key markets."

Meanwhile, Michael Pachter, the managing director at Wedbush Securities, noted that the pandemic prompted an "outsized performance" in the gaming industry in 2021.

He told CNBC: "Everyone saw record numbers during shelter-in-place, with catalogue sales of older titles leading the way. That set up an impossible comparison, and the year-over-year declines were well telegraphed and were expected."