Similarly, to fans of films, TV programs, and music, avid gamers can often be seen wearing branded merchandise for their favorite gaming franchises. And with the eagerly awaited releases of the GTA remastered trilogy on November 11th, Battlefield 2041 on November 19th, and Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker on the 7th of December, gamers are feeling the hype for their favorite gaming franchises more than ever. But keen collectors may be wondering which gaming franchises have the most valuable merchandise?
Set on finding out, the financial experts sorted through nearly 30,000 items of video game merchandise from 50 of the most popular gaming franchises in order to determine the most expensive gaming merchandise and the gaming franchises that might be worth investing in.
Experts took the median price of items from the following categories for each gaming franchise and totaled them in order to determine the most expensive merch collections: collectibles, keychains, mugs, pins, posters, and t-shirts.
The results are as follows:
| Gaming Franchise | Most expensive category – median price ($) | Total collection cost – 1 item per category ($) | |
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto | Collectibles – $179.50 | $308.54 |
| 2 | The Witcher | Collectibles – $201.49 | $305.96 |
| 3 | Metal Gear Solid | Collectibles – $77.46 | $207.62 |
| 4 | Super Mario | T-shirts – $59.93 | $164.73 |
| 5 | Halo | Collectibles – $66.10 | $164.45 |
| 6 | Far Cry | Collectibles – $44.45 | $157.91 |
| 7 | Assassin’s Creed | Collectibles – $46.35 | $136.23 |
| 8 | Borderlands | Collectibles – $42.79 | $134.61 |
| 9 | Tom Clancy’s | Posters – $30.65 | $133.11 |
| 10 | God of War | Keychains – $43.23 | $132.11 |
The study reveals that the most valuable gaming merchandise is that from Grand Theft Auto. On average, buying one item from each of the six categories would set you back a staggering $308.54. The most expensive item would be a collectible, such as a figurine, limited edition item, or a plush doll, with a median price of $179.50.
GTA collectibles analyzed in the study included a signed GTA5 collector’s edition, which costs $408.64 (£299.95) on eBay, and a framed poster, game, and guidebook set for $68.10 (£49.99) on Etsy.
The second most valuable gaming franchise is The Witcher merchandise. Buying an item from each category would cost an average of $305.96. Buying a collectible Witcher item would cost more than a GTA collectible, with a whopping median price tag of $201.49.
The Witcher collectibles included a complete The Witcher III Wild Hunt collector’s set, complete with a statue, box, soundtrack, medallion, artbook, steelbook, cloth map, and game for $408.57 (£299.90) on eBay.
Ranking third, and significantly cheaper than the first two collections, is Metal Gear Solid. A full Metal Gear Solid set would cost, on average, $207.62. Some of the priciest items analyzed included a $1,050 (£770) original release poster from 1998 on Etsy and an $880 (£645) model kit on Etsy.
The fourth most expensive is Super Mario with an average total cost of $164.73. The most expensive Mario item is a t-shirt, with a median price of $59.93. Costly items included a $40 (£30) Mario pipe mug on Etsy, and a book of original sheet music costing $668 on eBay.
Fifth is Halo, with an average collection costing $164.45. Items analyzed included a $108 (£79) 3D printed master chief controller holder on Etsy and a Halo logo emblem for $180 on eBay.
The study also reveals the most expensive game in each category:
| Category | Most expensive gaming franchises | Gaming franchise’s median price |
| Collectibles | The Witcher | $201.49 |
| Keychains | God of War | $43.23 |
| Mugs | Tom Clancy’s | $26.75 |
| Pins | Grand Theft Auto | $40.03 |
| Posters | Metal Gear Solid | $50.99 |
| T-shirts | Super Mario | $59.93 |
The finance expert at Money UK has commented on the findings:
“When it comes to collecting, it’s always important to assess the true value of items. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to sell, knowing the value of your items will help you make the most of your collection for years to come. If the items you collect are particularly valuable, it may be worth taking out extra insurance on them and checking what your current home insurance policy covers, as there may be caps or limits for collections on a normal policy. Looking into collectors, or collectibles, insurance will help ensure that in the case of damage or theft, the costs and years that went into completing your collection won’t go to waste.”
“Here are some tips for protecting different types of collections:
- Paper-based collections, such as cards or stamps, need to be kept away from moisture and excessive light. It could be worth using a dehumidifier nearby to make sure the air around the collection couldn’t be leading to damp or mould.
- Clothing collections can be affected by pests such as moths. Make sure to regularly check on your collection and make sure it’s in a clean and dust-free environment.
- Collections containing metal, such as keychains, pins, and coins, can be subject to rust or corrosion. Moisture and salt can accelerate this process, so again, keeping a dry environment will help, as well as using gloves or making sure your hands are clean and dry before touching will help mitigate any risks.”
Methodology:
- Money UK wanted to find out which video gaming franchise’s merchandise is the most valuable.
- To do so, they sourced a list of the 50 most popular video games based on Wikipedia’s list of best-selling video game franchises.
- Then, each game was searched on eBay, and data for 28,593 products were scraped and categorized by game, item type, price, condition, product type, and brand.
- A manual search on Etsy was also carried out for each gaming franchise to filter out any irrelevant results, and this data was combined with the original eBay dataset.
- The results were then cleaned and sorted by game and product into six categories: collectibles, keychains, mugs, pins/badges, posters, and t-shirts.
- A minimum threshold of 5 products per category was implemented, and a price for each category per game was ascertained based on the median price of the combined eBay and Etsy data.
- A total of 10 games were then found to have insufficient data and had to be ruled out at this stage.
- The total cost to buy one item from each category for each gaming franchise was then calculated in order to determine the most valuable game merchandise.
- Data was collected in GBP and exchanged for USD and Euros on November 3rd, 2021. Exchange rates are correct as of then but are subject to change.
