ESA Launches Dashboard Mapping Game Economy by State
A new data.theesa.com dashboard shows lawmakers the jobs, tax revenue, studios, and university programs tied to video games in each state.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Gaming
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The Entertainment Software Association has launched a new dashboard at data.theesa.com showing the U.S. video game economy by state. It replaces the original AreWeInYourState.org map the group introduced more than a decade ago.
Why it matters
The dashboard is designed to help lawmakers see the economic footprint of the video game industry in their districts. It consolidates figures from ESA's 2026 Essential Facts report and a 2025 survey on veterans and video games into one tool.
The U.S. game industry counts 8,976 sites and 1,079 physical locations across 237 cities, with $8.63 billion in federal tax revenue attributed to it. Seven in 10 studios employ fewer than 10 people, and the industry reports $218,000 in average compensation.
The players
Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
The Entertainment Software Association is the U.S. trade group representing video game publishers, and it publishes annual industry economic reports.
The details
The dashboard draws on ESA industry data to show the jobs, tax revenue, studio locations, and university programs tied to video games in each state. It is aimed at policymakers, presenting the industry's total economic output of $95.85 billion alongside its state-level footprint.
Timeline
ESA introduced its original AreWeInYourState.org map more than a decade ago.
Consumer game spending reached about $61.8 billion in 2025, up from $26.2 billion in 2010.
Industry data in the dashboard is current as of January 31, 2026.
ESA launched the new dashboard on November 4, 2026.
Market Landscape
The launch follows ESA's earlier AreWeInYourState.org effort, which first mapped the industry's state-level impact more than a decade ago. The new tool extends that approach with figures tied to 2025 consumer spending and 2026 industry reporting.
Residents can use the dashboard to see how many jobs, studios, and tax dollars the game industry generates in their own state. It offers a way to compare local activity against national totals of 250,838 jobs and $65.5 billion in GDP contribution.
The takeaway
The dashboard gives a state-by-state view of how much the video game industry contributes to local jobs and tax revenue. Readers can use it to check the industry's footprint in their own communities.
Further reading
Explore more on Gaming coverage across the industry.
More information
Explore the ESA state-by-state game economy dashboard for figures on jobs, tax revenue, and studio locations in each state.
Source note: This article includes information reported by GamesBeat.
Live Poll
Should your state's lawmakers support policies that expand the video game industry?
