Digital games spending reached $127 billion in 2020

Free-to-play spending made up 78% of the total, but premium title revenue saw greater year-on-year growth

News by Rebekah Valentine Senior Staff Writer

Published on Jan. 6, 2021

Digital games spending grew 12% year-over-year in 2020, reaching $127 billion across mobile, PC, and console.

According to SuperData's year in review report, $73.8 billion of digital spending occurred on mobile, while $19.7 billion was on console and $33.1 billion was on PC. In addition, gaming video content brought in $9.3 billion and XR spending reached $6.7 billion.

Free-to-play games generated the majority of digital revenue at $98.4 billion or 78% of the total, an increase of 9% year-over-year.

However, despite having the smaller share at $24.5 billion, premium games saw more growth, with digital sales up 28% year-over-year thanks to titles like Doom Eternal, The Last of Us Part 2, and Cyberpunk 2077.

Looking at premium titles, SuperData listed total digital revenue of the top ten highest-earning games in 2020, which are as follows:

Call of Duty Modern Warfare - $1.91 billion
FIFA 20 - $1.08 billion
Grand Theft Auto V - $911 million
NBA 2K21 - $889 million
NBA 2K20 - $771 million
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War - $678 million
Animal Crossing: New Horizon - $654 million
Cyberpunk 2077 - $609 million
The Sims 4 - $462 million
Doom Eternal - $454 million

Of the free-to-play market, $73.8 billion in spending came from mobile, while $22.7 billion stemmed from PC revenue and the remaining $1.8 billion was on console. The mobile market grew 10% in 2020, and accounted for 58% of the total digital games market -- remaining steady in its share even with lockdowns and reduced commuting.

The top ten highest-earning free-to-play games in 2020 and their respective digital revenues are as follows: