SuperData, a Nielsen company, today is releasing its 2020 Year in Review report focusing on the health of digital games and interactive media market, the impact of COVID-19 on games and brands, and likely gaming trends in 2021.
Overall, digital games alone earned $126.6B in 2020, up 12% year-over-year in a year where audiences were forced to stay home and interact remotely. Here are key SuperData findings:
- Free-to-play games continued to generate the vast majority of games revenue (78%), with Asian markets accounting for 59% of free-to-play earnings. Hardcore mobile games continued to appeal to players in Asia. Honor of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite, both Tencent titles, each generated over $2B during the year.
- The mobile market experienced 10% growth in 2020 and accounted for 58% of the total games market. Despite lockdowns and reduced commuting, mobile earnings remained steady as a majority of mobile players (62% in the United States) already use mobile devices as their primary gaming platform.
- Roblox was the third highest-earning digital game of 2020 and surpassed Fortnite thanks to strong mobile growth. Roblox mobile earnings grew as the game creation platform became a social network of choice for young gamers. Although Fortnite still earned more than $1B in 2020, it faced stiff competition from games like Roblox and Call of Duty: Warzone.
- Premium games earnings grew 28% year-over-year, outpacing the growth of the free-to-play market (9%). North America and Europe together accounted for 84% of all premium games revenue. Since COVID-19 impacted these regions severely, spending on premium content jumped. Life s
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