The Highest-Earning Video Games Of 2020 Revealed

2020 was a tremendous year for gaming, as the dollar figures only confirm. With the industry as a whole earning a jaw-dropping US$139.9 billion across the board and weighted aggregate growth of approximately 12%, the one-two combination of heavyweight releases finally hitting the market and COVID-19 induced lockdown meant some of the year’s highest-earning video games racked up some impressive numbers.

Breaking down that hefty US$139.9 billion total…

• US$73.8 billion came from mobile gaming
• US$33.1 billion came from PC gaming
• US$19.7 billion came from console gaming
• US$9.3 billion came from gaming video content (GVC)
• and US$6.7 billion came from the growing sector of virtual reality gaming (VR)

Interestingly enough, given the wider active user base, free-to-play titles have once again lapped its premium titles by a noticeable margin. For reference, the highest-earning premium game was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare at US$1.91 billion; while the fifth-highest free-to-play game, Pokemon Go, came in at US$1.92 billion. Additionally, only the top two premium entrants crossed the capital B threshold, whereas every name on the free-to-play list crossed it quite comfortably (with around half a billion of breathing to spare at the very least).

Check it out for yourself below.

The highest-earning video games in 2020 (premium titles)

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – US$1.91 billion
   [Activision Blizzard]
   Genre: Shooter
   
   
2. FIFA 2020 – US$1.08 billion
   [Electronic Arts]
   Genre: Sports
   
   
3. Grand Theft Auto V – US$911 million
   [Take Two Interactive Software]
   Genre: Action/Adventure
   
   
4. NBA 2K21 – US$889 million
   [Take Two Interactive]
   Genre: Sports
   
   
5. NBA 2K20 – US$771 million
   [Take Two Interactive]
   Genre: Sports
   
   
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – US$678 million
   [Activision Blizzard]
   Genre: Shooter
   
   
7. Animal Crossing; New Horizons – US$654 million
   [Nintendo]
   Genre: Simulation
   
   
8. Cyberpunk 2077 – US$609 million
   [CD Projekt]
   Genre: RPG
   
   
9. Sims 4 – US$462 million
   [Electronic Arts]
   Genre: Simulation
   
   
10. DOOM Eternal – US$454 million
    [Bethesda]
    Genre: Shooter

RELATED: Is ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Everything We Were Promised?

The highest-earning video games in 2020 (free-to-play titles)

1. Honour of Kings – US$2.45 billion
   [Tencent]
   Genre: MOBA
   
   
2. Peacekeeper Elite – US$2.32 billion
   [Tencent]
   Genre: Shooter
   
   
3. Roblox – US$2.29 billion
   [Roblox Corporation]
   Genre: Simulation
   
   
4. Free Fire – US$2.13 billion
   [Garena]
   Genre: Shooter
   
   
5. Pokemon GO – US$1.92 billion
   [Niantic]
   Genre: Action/Adventure
   
   
6. League of Legends – US$1.7 billion
   [Tencent]
   Genre: MOBA
   
   
7. Candy Crush Saga – US$1.66 billion
   [King, Activision Blizzard]
   Genre: Puzzle
   
   
8. AFK Arema – US$1.45 billion
   [Lilith Games]
   Genre: Strategy
   
   
9. Gardenscapes – New Acres – US$1.43 billion
   [Playtrix Games]
   Genre: Puzzle
   
   
10. Dungeon Fighter Online – US$1.41 billion
    [Nexon]
    Genre: RPG

Source: SuperData Research – A Nielsen Company