The video game industry as a whole marked yet another sales record last year, being now worth over 130 billion U.S. dollars. 2021’s Top 10 biggest video game brands are also largely the same as in the previous years. The following lists the Top 10 biggest video game companies 2021 in the world by the achieved gaming revenue last year.
Note: Only the gaming revenue is being taken into account for this ranking. Revenue that a company may have generated from other branches of business is irrelevant here.
While video game companies can technically be seen as software companies, non-gaming software sales are not being counted here. Check out the separate ranking for the Top 10 Largest Software Companies.
The 10 Biggest Video Games Companies in the World 2021
1. Sony
Gaming Revenue: $25.0 billion
Founded in: 1946
Based in: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Electronics
Most profitable game sold in 2020: PlayStation 5 (video game console)
Sony remains the biggest video game company in the world 2021. The Japanese tech giant now makes most of its gaming revenue, which totaled $25 billion last year, with the PlayStation 5 which came out in 2020 and became the world’s most popular next-gen video game console. However, Sony also produces many original video games for its console. The company’s handheld video game console, the PlayStation Vita, contributed to Sony’s no.1 position on the video game market as well.
2. Tencent
Gaming Revenue: $13.9 billion
Founded in: 1998
Based in: Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Main industry: Social Media
Most profitable game sold in 2020: Honor of Kings
If you discount all video game console-making companies and concentrate solely on video game creators, then Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent is by far the world’s largest video game company in 2021 with an impressive gaming revenue of $13.9 billion. Tencent primarily focuses on online and mobile smartphone games, such as the company’s mobile flagship game Honor of Kings. But through the many video game studios the corporation owns all over the world, Tencent has also become a big player on the video game big screen. Tencent most notably owns Riot Games, the American video game studio that created League of Legends, a popular multiplayer battle arena game enjoyed by millions of players all around the world, even professionally.
Tencent also owns shares in several other video game companies, such as in American video game giants Epic Games (40%) and Activision Blizzard (5%), South Korean Krafton Game Union (11.5%) or French video game company Ubisoft (5%).
3. Nintendo
Gaming Revenue: $12.1 billion
Founded in: 1889
Based in: Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2020: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Despite dropping to third place in this ranking of the Top 10 biggest video game companies 2021, last year was still a very successful year for Japanese video game company Nintendo, helping the company to remain the world’s biggest purely video game developer. Nintendo’s revenue success, $12.1 billion last year, is largely driven not only by continued sales of the Nintendo Switch console, but also by Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the game which is on path to becoming the best-selling game for the Switch console ever.
4. Microsoft
Gaming Revenue: $11.6 billion
Founded in: 1975
Based in: Redmond, Washington, USA
Main industry: Software
Most profitable game sold in 2020: Xbox Series X/S (video game console)
The world’s largest software company is also the world’s fourth largest video game company. Microsoft made around $11.6 billion with Xbox Game Studios, the company’s gaming branch. The gaming revenue was primarily generated by Microsoft’s new next-gen Xbox Series X/S sales of course, but Microsoft additionally develops video games itself or owns studios that do. A good example of this is Mojang. The Swedish video game studio, which is owned by Microsoft, is known for creating Minecraft, which has recently become the most popular video game in history.
5. Activision Blizzard
Gaming Revenue: $8.1 billion
Founded in: 2008
(by merger of Activision & Blizzard Entertainment)
Based in: Santa Monica, California, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2020: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Activision Blizzard comes fifth in the top 10 biggest video companies ranking of 2020. Founded in 2008 by the merger of American video game companies Activision and Blizzard Entertainment, Activision Blizzard generated $8.1 billion last year. The California-based video game studio can, as always, rely on its by far most historic game series Call of Duty which performed satisfyingly well with its newest installation Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Additionally, the company’s World of Warcraft series also saw a rise in sales.
6. Electronic Arts
Gaming Revenue: $5.5 billion
Founded in: 1982
Based in: Redwood City, California, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2020: FIFA 21
7. Epic Games
Gaming Revenue: $4.2 billion
Founded in: 1991
Based in: Cary, North Carolina, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2020: Fortnite: Save the World
8. Take-Two Interactive
Gaming Revenue: $3.1 billion
Founded in: 1993
Based in: New York City, New York, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2020: NBA 2K21
9. Sega Sammy
Gaming Revenue: $2.3 billion
Founded in: 2004
(by merger of Sega & Sammy Corporation)
Based in: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2020: Total War Saga: Troy
10. Bandai Namco
Gaming Revenue: $2.2 billion
Founded in: 2005
(by merger of Bandai & Namco)
Based in: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Toys
Most profitable game sold in 2020: Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
The 10 Biggest Video Games Companies in the World 2021 (at a glance)
(based on 2020 revenues, in U.S. Dollars)
| Top 10 Biggest Video Game Companies in the World 2021: |
|---|
| 1. SONY Gaming Revenue: $25.0 billion |
| 2. TENCENT Gaming Revenue: $13.9 billion |
| 3. NINTENDO Gaming Revenue: $12.1 billion |
| 4. MICROSOFT Gaming Revenue: $11.6 billion |
| 5. ACTIVISION BLIZZARD Gaming Revenue: $8.1 billion |
| 6. ELECTRONIC ARTS Gaming Revenue: $5.5 billion |
| 7. EPIC GAMES Gaming Revenue: $4.8 billion |
| 8. TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE Gaming Revenue: $3.1 billion |
| 9. SEGA SAMMY Gaming Revenue: $2.3 billion |
| 10. BANDAI NAMCO Gaming Revenue: $2.2 billion |
Top 10 biggest video game companies by most recent revenue numbers in U.S. Dollars. Only the gaming revenue is being taken into account for this ranking. Revenue that a company may have generated from other branches of business is irrelevant here.