The video game industry as a whole marked yet another sales record last year, being now worth over 130 billion U.S. dollars. 2020’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 2020 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
1. Sony
Gaming Revenue: $20.3 billion
Founded in: 1946
Based in: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Electronics
Most profitable game sold in 2019: PlayStation 4 (video game console)
Sony remains the biggest video game company in the world 2020. The Japanese tech giant still makes most of its gaming revenue, which totaled $20.3 billion last year, with the PlayStation 4 which came out in late 2013 and continues to be the world’s most popular 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. Nintendo
Gaming Revenue: $11.1 billion
Founded in: 1889
Based in: Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2019: Nintendo Switch (video game console)
Last year was a very successful year for Nintendo which helped the Japanese video game company to reclaim the no. 2 spot in this ranking of the Top 10 biggest video game companies 2020. While Nintendo makes the most part of its revenue, $11.1 billion last year, from sales of its video game console, the Nintendo Switch, the Japanese gaming company also develops a lot of successful video game series itself.
3. Microsoft
Gaming Revenue: $11.0 billion
Founded in: 1975
Based in: Redmond, Washington, USA
Main industry: Software
Most profitable game sold in 2019: Xbox One (video game console)
The world’s largest software company is also the world’s third largest video game company. Microsoft made around $11 billion with Xbox Game Studios, the company’s gaming branch. The gaming revenue was primarily generated by Xbox One 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.
4. Tencent
Gaming Revenue: $9.2 billion
Founded in: 1998
Based in: Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Main industry: Information Technology
Most profitable game sold in 2019: League of Legends
If you discount all video game console-making companies and concentrate solely on video game creators, then the Chinese IT giant Tencent is the world’s largest video game company in 2020 with an impressive gaming revenue of $9.2 billion. Tencent primarily makes games for mobile phones. But through the many video game studios the corporation owns all over the world, Tencent has long also become a big player on the big screen for video games. 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%).
5. Activision Blizzard
Gaming Revenue: $6.5 billion
Founded in: 2008
Based in: Santa Monica, California, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2019: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
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, Activison Blizzard generated $6.5 billion last year. While this is certainly still an impressive number for a gaming company, it actually represents a downside trend for the brand. The California-based video game studio can still however rely on its by far most historic game series Call of Duty which performed, as always, satisfyingly well with its newest installation Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
6. Electronic Arts
Gaming Revenue: $5.1 billion
Founded in: 1982
Based in: Redwood City, California, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2019: FIFA 20
7. Bandai Namco
Gaming Revenue: $3.2 billion
Founded in: 1955
Based in: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Toys
Most profitable game sold in 2019: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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 2019: NBA 2K20
9. Square Enix
Gaming Revenue: $2.5 billion
Founded in: 1975
Based in: Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2019: Kingdom Hearts III
10. Epic Games
Gaming Revenue: $1.8 billion
Founded in: 1991
Based in: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Main industry: Gaming
Most profitable game sold in 2019: Fortnite
The 10 Biggest Video Games Companies in the World (at a glance)
(based on 2018-2019 revenues, in U.S. Dollars)
| Top 10 Biggest Video Game Companies in the World 2020: |
|---|
| 1. SONY Gaming Revenue: $20.3 billion |
| 2. NINTENDO Gaming Revenue: $11.1 billion |
| 3. MICROSOFT Gaming Revenue: $11.0 billion |
| 4. TENCENT Gaming Revenue: $9.2 billion |
| 5. ACTIVISION BLIZZARD Gaming Revenue: $6.5 billion |
| 6. ELECTRONIC ARTS Gaming Revenue: $5.1 billion |
| 7. BANDAI NAMCO Gaming Revenue: $3.2 billion |
| 8. TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE Gaming Revenue: $3.1 billion |
| 9. SQUARE ENIX Gaming Revenue: $2.5 billion |
| 10. EPIC GAMES Gaming Revenue: $1.8 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.