Video games today represent one of the most popular forms of entertainment, having surpassed even other popular entertainment branches such as movies or music. Video game companies offer players an interactive experience unmatched by any other form of entertainment. Needless to say, video games are also a very lucrative industry. The biggest video game companies in the world each generate several billion dollars in sales every single year.
The video game industry as a whole also continued to grow in the past year, albeit at a slower rate than in previous years. In total, the global market for video games is now worth well over 150 billion U.S. dollars. 2023’s Top 10 biggest video game companies remain largely the same as in previous years.
The following ranking lists the Top 10 biggest video game companies in 2023 in the world by the achieved gaming revenue last year.
Note: Only the gaming revenue is considered 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 following ranking lists the 10 biggest video game companies in the world. Click the following for the Top 10 best-selling video games of all time or the Top 10 best video games of all time.
The 10 Biggest Video Games Companies in the World 2023

1. Sony

Sony Group Corporation
Gaming Revenue: $28.2 billion
Founded in: 1946
Based in: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Electronics
Most profitable game sold in 2022: God of War: Ragnarök
Sony remains the biggest video game company in the world in 2023. The Japanese tech giant makes a big portion of its gaming revenue, which totaled $28.2 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, such as God of War or the Spider-Man video games, which are made by the Sony-owned studio Santa Monica Studio and Insomniac Games, respectively. The company’s handheld video game console, the PlayStation Vita, contributed to Sony’s no.1 position in the video game market as well.
2. Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation
Gaming Revenue: $16.2 billion
Founded in: 1975
Based in: Redmond, Washington, USA
Main industry: Software
Most profitable game sold in 2022: Minecraft
The world’s largest software company is also the world’s second-largest video game company. Microsoft made around $16.2 billion with Xbox Game Studios, the company’s gaming branch. The gaming revenue was in huge parts generated by Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox Series X/S console, 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.
In 2022, Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, which would mark the most expensive acquisition ever within the video gaming industry.
3. Tencent

Tencent Holdings Ltd.
Gaming Revenue: $13.9 billion
Founded in: 1998
Based in: Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Main industry: Social Media
Most profitable game sold in 2022: PUGB: Mobile
Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent is also involved in the video game business 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 games PUGB: Mobile or 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 and Activision Blizzard, South Korean Krafton Game Union, or French video game company Ubisoft (5%).
4. Nintendo

Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Gaming Revenue: $13.8 billion
Founded in: 1889
Based in: Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2022: Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
Coming in fourth in this ranking of the Top 10 biggest video game companies in 2023, is the oldest still active video game company in the world. Nintendo also remains the world’s biggest purely video game developer in the world. Nintendo’s revenue success, $13.8 billion last year, is largely driven not only by continued sales of the Nintendo Switch console but also by its hugely and historically successful Pokemon franchise, which latest installment once again proved to be the best-selling video game for Nintendo in the past year.
5. Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard, Inc.
Gaming Revenue: $7.4 billion
Founded in: 2008
(by merger of Activision & Blizzard Entertainment)
Based in: Santa Monica, California, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2022: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Activision Blizzard comes fifth in the top 10 of the biggest video companies ranking of 2023. Founded in 2008 by the merger of American video game companies Activision and Blizzard Entertainment, Activision Blizzard generated $7.4 billion in revenues last year. The California-based video game studio can, as every year, rely on its by far most historically successful game series Call of Duty, the series’ latest installment, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 once again proved to be the company’s main sales driver.
6. Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc.
Gaming Revenue: $7.0 billion
Founded in: 1982
Based in: Redwood City, California, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2022: FIFA 23
Electronic Arts, or EA, also belongs to the biggest video game companies in the world. At the same time, EA is the absolute number one in the sports games segment of the video games market. EA’s sports franchises like FIFA or Madden are the biggest sports game brands in the world and among the most successful video game franchises overall. Additionally, Electronic Arts of course also makes several non-sports video games which include successful franchises like The Sims, Battlefield, Medal of Honor, or the racing game Need for Speed.
7. Epic Games

Epic Games, Inc.
Gaming Revenue: $5.8 billion
Founded in: 1991
Based in: Cary, North Carolina, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2022: Fortnite: Save the World
Epic Games currently comes in seventh in the ranking of the biggest video game companies in the world. While the company has been around since the early 1990s (back then known as “Epic MegaGames”), only fairly recently did it manage to establish itself as a giant in the global video game market. Epic Game’s absolute flagship game is the online battle royale game Fortnite, which has become one of the world’s most popular video games since its release in 2017. Tencent and Sony both own minority stakes in the company.
8. Take-Two Interactive

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Gaming Revenue: $3.5 billion
Founded in: 1993
Based in: New York City, New York, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2022: NBA 2K23
Take-Two Interactive comes in eighth place among the world’s biggest video game companies and also makes the Top 5 among the biggest solely video game companies. The company is structured as a holding owning multiple video game studios that create and publish different sorts of video games under different brands. For example, the successful NBA 2K series gets made by the company’s 2K studio, while the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, both among the most globally successful video game franchises in history, are created and published by Take-Two Interactive’s subsidiary Rockstar Games.
9. Bandai Namco

Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.
Gaming Revenue: $3.1 billion
Founded in: 2005
(by merger of Bandai & Namco)
Based in: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Toys
Most profitable game sold in 2022: Elden Ring
While Bandai Namco is primarily a manufacturer of toys and overall kids’ products, the company has also been involved in video games for decades and continually established itself among the world’s biggest video game companies. Bandai Namco, founded by the merger of Bandai and Namco in 2005, is best known for making classic first-generation video game franchises like Pac-Man and Sonic the Hedgehog or Tekken. The Japanese company is also known and popular for its wide range of anime video games such as Dragon Ball. More recently, Bandai Namco likewise published highly successful original titles, such as the Action RPG Elden Ring.
10. Ubisoft

Ubisoft Entertainment SA
Gaming Revenue: $2.5 billion
Founded in: 1986
Based in: Saint-Mande, Ile-de-France, France
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2022: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction
Ubisoft also finds itself among the biggest video game companies in the world, while at the same time being the biggest European video game company. Ubisoft was one of the first video game companies to find global success with its games. Today, the company’s video game portfolio includes highly successful game franchises such as the action-adventure titles Far Cry or Assassin’s Creed and the shooter series Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. Tencent owns a minority stake in the French company.
The 10 Biggest Video Games Companies in the World 2023
(based on the latest revenue numbers as of January 2023 in U.S. Dollars)
Top 10 Biggest Video Game Companies in the World: |
---|
1. SONY Gaming Revenue: $28.2 billion |
2. MICROSOFT Gaming Revenue: $16.2 billion |
3. TENCENT Gaming Revenue: $13.9 billion |
4. NINTENDO Gaming Revenue: $13.8 billion |
5. ACTIVISION BLIZZARD Gaming Revenue: $7.4 billion |
6. ELECTRONIC ARTS Gaming Revenue: $7.0 billion |
7. EPIC GAMES Gaming Revenue: $5.8 billion |
8. TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE Gaming Revenue: $3.5 billion |
9. BANDAI NAMCO Gaming Revenue: $3.1 billion |
10. UBISOFT Gaming Revenue: $2.5 billion |
Top 10 biggest video game companies by most recent revenue numbers in U.S. Dollars (currency conversions at current rates at the time of the update). 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 disregarded here. Revenue generated by video game stores or platforms (e.g. GameStop, Valve’s Steam, etc.) is also not considered.