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2020 was a record year for video game sales. According to data released by The NPD Group, 2020 consumer spending on video games reached $56.9 billion, a 27% increase from 2019's total. A new report now details how much individual games earned, including how much money each of the top-earning games made per minute.
The continued earnings of video games after release are fueled by microtransactions, incremental purchases typically in the form of in-game currency for buying cosmetics or gameplay-boosting items. For example, in Fortnite, V-Bucks can be used to purchase a season pass that gives players skins, banners, and the ability to surpass level 100. For mobile games such as Candy Crush, microtransactions can purchase extra lives or in-game buffs.
According to research from NetBet, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Warzone was the highest earner among console games in 2020, bringing in $1.9 billion. FIFA 20 had the second highest annual earnings for a console game - $1.08 billion. Tencent-published mobile game Honor of Kings earned the most revenue of any game in the data provided, raking in $2.45 billion for the year.
Call Of Duty & FIFA Were 2020's Top-Earning Games
For console-based games, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Warzone therefore dominated earnings per minute at an average of $3,633.94, culminating in an average of $5.2 million per day from microtransactions and unit sales. FIFA 20 earned an average $2,054.79 per minute, and Grand Theft Auto 5 took third place with an average of $1,733.26 per minute. NetBet noted GTA 5's success was due to its multiplayer component, GTA Online, as the base game was released in 2013. Other top-earning titles include NBA 2K20, Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Cyberpunk 2077, The Sims 4 and DOOM Eternal.
Alongside console games, mobile gaming sales were high in 2020. Though a NetBet press release only broke down console-based games' per-minute revenues, additional data on its website shows Honor of Kings earned an average of $4,661 per minute, while Game for Peace - the Tencent-published, Chinese version of PUBG Mobile - came in at a close second with an average of $4,414 earnings per minute. Other top-earning mobile games included Garena Free Fire, Pokémon GO, Candy Crush and AFK Arena.
Source: The NPD Group, NetBet