You’ll find the world’s richest game companies, the minds behind the games we all adore. Who has seen their investments pay off in the hundreds of millions of dollars?
The video game industry is one of the most lucrative in the world. Its success rate is higher than that of music and filmmaking.
But who are the world’s richest and most profitable gaming companies?
1. Microsoft
- Estimated Net Worth $1 Trillion
Microsoft is one of the world’s richest game companies and one of the world’s wealthiest corporations.
Additionally, Microsoft is physically wealthier than most first-world countries, with a net value of over $1 trillion.
Unlike most of the companies on our list, though, Microsoft did not make most of its money from video games.
In addition, it’s difficult to disentangle what Microsoft has genuinely developed in the gaming niche alone because of the numerous accessible product lines.
Still, it’s best recognized for developing and selling the Xbox platform and associated games.
Furthermore, it’s been going strong since the early 2000s and is by far the world’s richest game company.
One of the most-sold Microsoft series is Gears of War, with sales of over 27 million worldwide.
Halo has over 60 million copies, Age of Empire has 18 million copies, Kinect Adventures has 24 million copies, and Forza Motorsport has over 10 million copies.
2. Tencent
- Estimated Net worth $50 Billion
Tencent Holdings Ltd. is a value-added service and internet advertising corporation. Its three segments are value-added Services, Online Advertising, and others.
The Value-added Services section includes online and mobile games, community value-added services, and applications on various Internet and mobile platforms.
Display and performance-based adverts are represented in the Online Advertising section.
In addition, Tencent has become the world’s second-richest game company. Furthermore, Tencent has acquired Riot Games, the creators of “League of Legends,” Epic Games, and several other gaming firms.
Tencent may eventually give the industry’s leader a run for its money if it continues to buy up game production companies.
3. Sony
- Estimated Net Worth $137.3 Billion
Sony Corporation develops, designs, manufactures, and sells electronic equipment, instruments, devices, game consoles, and software to consumers, professionals, and industry.
Additionally, the company works through the segments of Game and Network Services, Music, Pictures, Home Entertainment and Sound, Imaging Products and Solutions, Mobile Communications, Semiconductors, Financial Services, and all others.
Furthermore, gaming equipment, software, and network services are part of the Game and Network Services division. Moreover, Sony Entertainment presently controls several industry records.
Meanwhile, all four PlayStation generations are in the top seven best-selling systems of all time, with the PlayStation 2 topping the list with 155 million units sold.
Some of the most successful franchises for Sony include Gran Turismo, with over 76 million copies sold worldwide, Uncharted with 28 million copies sold worldwide, Ratchet and Clank with 26 million copies, God of War with over 21 million copies. And Crash Bandicoot has 22 million copies worldwide.
4. Electronic Arts
- Estimated Net Worth $133.88 Billion
Electronic Arts, Inc., is a company that creates digital interactive games. It also creates and distributes games, entertainment, and online services for Internet-enabled consoles, mobile devices, and PCs.
Furthermore, it is divided into two geographical segments: North America and the rest of the world. In addition, William M. Hawkins III and William Gordon formed the business in 1982, based in Redwood City, California.
It sold 250 million copies of FIFA worldwide. The sims have 200 copies worldwide and need a speed of over 150 million copies.
5. Activision Blizzard (ATVI)
- Estimated Net worth $72 Billion
Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the richest game companies and publishers. The company works in three areas: Blizzard Entertainment, Activision Entertainment, and King Digital Entertainment.
Additionally, Activision Publishing creates and distributes interactive software and entertainment materials, primarily for consoles.
Blizzard Entertainment creates and distributes interactive software and entertainment materials, mostly for PCs.
Furthermore, Activision Blizzard now owns some of the most profitable gaming properties ever, thanks to their collaboration.
Call of Duty has over 250 million copies sold worldwide. Destiny franchises, World of Warcraft (19 million copies), Diablo (100 million copies), and Overwatch are examples of this.
6. Nintendo
- Estimated Net Worth $71.20 Billion
Nintendo Co., Ltd. is a Japanese home entertainment company that develops, manufactures, and sells games.
Portable and console game machines and software, trump cards and Karuta (Japanese-style playing cards), multinational consumer electronics, and home console hardware. Such as the Nintendo Wii,
Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, and others, and software for handheld and home console gaming machines, are among the company’s entertainment products.
Furthermore, Nintendo’s other successful properties, besides the Mario Brothers, which sold over 620 million copies, include The Legend of Zelda (105.62 million copies), Star Fox, and Donkey Kong.
From the Gamecube through the Wii to their most recent product, the Switch, they’ve delivered a string of equally popular and inventive platforms.
7. Valve
- Estimated Net Worth $10 Billion
Valve is based in Bellevue, Washington. It is a digital distribution company and one of the richest game companies.
Furthermore, the firm has created fantastic games such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Day of Defeat, Portal, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, and Dota 2.
Steam, their software distribution platform, is also well-known worldwide. They recently launched Steam Deck, a handheld gaming PC.
8. King
- Estimated Net Worth $5.90 Billion
King.com Limited, doing business as King and King Digital Entertainment, is a social game developer in St. Julian’s, Malta.
King rose to prominence after releasing the cross-platform game Candy Crush Saga in 2012, which is widely regarded as one of the most commercially successful freemium games ever.
However 2012, King produced the ultimate game at the perfect time. In Candy Crush Saga, simple gaming principles were merged with social connectivity and an addictive leveling system.
They were among the few who saw the potential in adding micro-transactions that were more of a bonus than a requirement.
9. Bandai Namco
- Estimated Net worth $6.72 Billion
Bandai Namco Entertainment, Inc. is a worldwide video game publisher in Tokyo’s Minato-ku neighborhood.
Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe are the company’s foreign operations.
Bandai Namco Holdings, an entertainment giant, owns 100% of the company, with offices in Santa Clara, California, and Lyon, France.
In addition, the firm is one of Japan’s leading computer game publishers and develops various video game brands. It also owns the licenses to various media franchises, including Naruto, and is a developer.
10. SEGA
- Estimated Net worth $4.9 Billion
Sega Corporation, located in Shinagawa, Tokyo, is a Japanese multinational video game developer and publisher.
Also, Sega of America and Sega Europe, the company’s foreign operations, are based in Irvine, California, and London, respectively.
Furthermore, Sega Games, the company’s console and arcade video game development division, has been in its current form since 2020; before that, the two divisions were split into Sega Games and Sega Interactive Co., Ltd.
Additionally, Sega is a Sega Sammy Holdings division and a Sega Group Corporation subsidiary. Sega also made video gaming systems from 1983 until 2001.
Moreover, the firm has created and published the following video games: Total War Football Manager and Sonic the Hedgehog.
Conclusively, the next time someone tells you that video games aren’t profitable, just show them this list.
While we’ve only included the richest game companies, there are lots of other success stories from smaller developers who have made a career out of their passion for gaming.
