Legendary developing teams are coming and passing. Sometimes the developer doesn’t even need to have a complex portfolio for a cult. For example, Troika Games made only – you guess! – three games. And all of them were raw masterpieces, a true classic of the RPG genre. At the same time, some simulator vendors made dozens of unknown simulator games for some specific niche.
What criteria do we have? First of all, we need to see the revenue. Troika Games, the Black Isle, Telltale (already resurrected) – all of these companies had genuinely bright minds but awful financial directors. Also, our chart is about a selling success, not a taste of the gamers. The marketing tendencies are a vivid factor in the franchise’s popularity.
The second thesis: all genres matter. Some avid gamers are too skeptical about mobile entertainment, but portable gadgets are the fundamental source of Internet surfing today. Busy people are enjoying the titles with a short-session activity. It is easy to make some sad daily bets in free slots to play. While the classic RPGs have great stories in nutty worlds, they also require a ton of time and pretty much skills.
The unusual positions in our charts are for new markets. Traditionally, there were two mainstream places for the gaming development Western World (the USA primarily) and Japan. The recent economic miracle in China makes a good marketing shift in the PRC. Soon we are expecting the same thing about India and the Middle East.
So, our chart includes companies from the bottom to the top by revenue. A short review of the most prominent studies under the umbrellas of big vendors is included if possible. Also, we are talking about 2019 only. 2020 was an anomaly due to the COVID pandemic, and the revenue wouldn’t be relevant. The relatively old chart hasn’t an unnecessary hype either.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 478 million dollars
It is a fine example of the Chinese mobile gaming industry. Century Huatong only profits from the sheer size of the market. Their games are typical time-killers for smartphones and tablets.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 510 million dollars
Ubisoft is one of the oldest European media companies that are active today. Founded by five Guillemot brothers in the eighties, it still is one of the major trendsetters. The cult and most profitable series of the company is Assassin’s Creed. As the Prince of Persia was before. Ubisoft keeps the rights on some cult franchises of yore, like Heroes of Might and Magic. Also, they maintain a moderately successful MOBA game For Honor.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 526 million dollars
37 Interactive is one more local Chinese mobile game vendor. It is working for the domestic market only and has about 2,000 employees.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 565 million dollars
WB is one of the classic Hollywood studios. They don’t develop games by themselves but prefer to found new companies for them. The best example is London-based Rocksteady, the authors of the illustrious and canonical Batman: Arkham series. The Mortal Kombat also is under WB’s umbrella. The company gives a lot of permissions on the games-by-movies.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 721 million dollars
Bandai Namco is an old and respectable Japanese conglomerate. Starting from offline arcade machines, they are one of the most glorious publishers in the country. The Tekken series is their own production, while some other famous teams are just working on some project. The Famous From Software is the separate authors of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and the upcoming Elden Ring. Bandai Namco just publishes their products.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 930 million dollars
Another successful producing syndicate. They own Rockstar Games with the GTA franchise and 2K Interactive. These teams made Bioshock and NBA franchises, respectively.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 1,593 million dollars
EA is notorious for its monetizing policy but still is a big player in the market. The biggest purchase of them was Bioware. Unfortunately, the Mass Effect creators faded recently. The most profitable branch is EA Sports with FIFA, Madden, and other tournament games.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 1,698 million dollars
Another local Chinese mobile company. The brand is a perfect stranger for all Western gamers, but it has many successes in the homeland. This company has exclusive localization rights for Warcraft in China. That is why the brand is so rich.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 1,749 million dollars
We are coming to titans. Activision Blizzard is actively highlighted by the mass media even today. Just two brands are goldmines themselves: Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. Even the lesser franchises of the company are successful: Candy Crush Saga at its prime made about $1 million per day. And this is just a small casual game!
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 1,877 million dollars
Yes, indeed. Google bought some game developing studios and even tried to make a proprietary online emulator named Google Stadia. But the largest revenue is royalty from Android gaming.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 2,286 million dollars
Nintendo is a true patriarch. The company started in the 19th century with traditional Japanese card decks named hanafuda. In the eighties. Nintendo became a new gaming icon. Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong – these brands are alive and staying extremely profitable. A recent hit, Animal Crossing is one of the most popular cozy games today.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 2,831 million dollars
Microsoft owns Xbox, but recently the giant from Redmond has bought Obsidian Entertainment. This team made some of the widely acclaimed roleplaying games.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 2,887 million dollars
Apple works on gadgets and OS only. All this astonishing hoard came from the royalty. The iPhone is a cultural phenomenon, and every hit game on it is a golden goose for Apple, Inc.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 3,879 million dollars
Playstation creators have good revenue from games, PS Plus, etc. Also, Sony Computer Entertainment owns some proven developer teams, like Naughty Dog and SCE Santa Monica. These creators made Uncharted and God of War – cult names for every Playstation fan.
The ultimate revenue at the end of 2019: 5,225 million dollars
Chinese mega-corporation works primarily on electronics. The source of this incredible wealth in the gaming sphere is Epic Game Store for the world and numerous Chinese mobile games in the local market. The Honor of Kings, League of Legends, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Fortnite have millions of players online per day.
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