# 2019 in video games
**2019 in video games** covers the year's releases, hardware, and market results in the global video game industry. It was the final full year of the eighth console generation, a record year for digital spending, and a year in which free-to-play mobile and live-service titles dominated revenue while premium big-studio releases declined.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Global market size | About US$152.1 billion in software revenue, up 9.6% year over year, with 2.5 billion players worldwide (Newzoo)[1](https://northeurope.blob.euroland.com/press-releases-attachments/1158979/HKEX-EPS_20190823_003592286-0.PDF) |
| Digital spending | A record $109.4 billion worldwide, a 3% jump from 2018's $106.1 billion (Nielsen data)[2](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/02/digital-game-spending-2019-record) |
| U.S. consumer spending | $35.4 billion in video game content, a 2% increase over 2018 (ESA and The NPD Group)[3](https://www.theesa.com/u-s-video-game-content-generated-35-4-billion-in-revenue-for-2019/) |
| Top-earning game | Epic Games' Fortnite, at $1.8 billion, down from $2.4 billion in 2018[2](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/02/digital-game-spending-2019-record) |
| Best-selling U.S. game | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, No. 1 on the NPD Group's 2019 chart[4](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/here-are-the-top-10-best-selling-games-of-2019-and/1100-6472832/) |
| New hardware | Nintendo Switch Lite, a handheld-only model at $199.99, released September 20[5](https://time.com/5622971/nintendo-switch-lite/) |
| Release volume | 7,058 video games released during the year[6](https://releasescanner.app/releases/2019) |
## Market size and spending
Newzoo's Global Games Market Report valued the 2019 market at about US$152.1 billion, excluding hardware, a 9.6% increase over the previous year, with the global player population reaching the 2.5 billion mark. Mobile games accounted for 45% of revenue, about US$68.5 billion, while PC and console games together accounted for 55%, or US$83.6 billion (23% PC and 32% console). Newzoo expected console games to grow 13.4% in 2019, the highest growth rate of any segment that year.[1](https://northeurope.blob.euroland.com/press-releases-attachments/1158979/HKEX-EPS_20190823_003592286-0.PDF)
**Digital spending set a record.** [Digital video](https://www.edgepedia.org/digital-video) games generated $109.4 billion worldwide in 2019, a 3% increase from $106.1 billion in 2018, according to Nielsen data. Asia was the biggest regional market, ahead of North America and Europe. Free-to-play titles drove nearly 80% of digital spending, and mobile, which consists mostly of free-to-play games, brought in about 60% of the cash and raised its share of total revenues to 73%.[2](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/02/digital-game-spending-2019-record) Large franchises entering mobile contributed to the growth; Call of Duty Mobile collected $116.8 million in 2019.[2](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/02/digital-game-spending-2019-record)
In the United States, the [Entertainment Software Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-software-association) and The NPD Group reported $35.4 billion in video game content revenue for 2019, a 2% increase over 2018, driven by reach across console, PC, mobile, and virtual reality platforms.[3](https://www.theesa.com/u-s-video-game-content-generated-35-4-billion-in-revenue-for-2019/) In the United Kingdom, digital gaming grew only 1.1% in 2019, reaching £3.17 billion, while PS4 game sales fell £119 million as the console cycle neared its end.[7](https://www.recordoftheday.com/on-the-move/news-press/entertainment-sales-enjoy-seventh-consecutive-year-of-growth-to-reach-78bn)
## Premium games versus free-to-play
The year split into two markets moving in opposite directions. Spending on AAA franchises, the premium titles produced by major studios, declined 5% year over year to $18.9 billion, while free-to-play and live-service games carried overall growth.[2](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/02/digital-game-spending-2019-record) Fortnite, initially released in 2017, remained the top-earning game overall at $1.8 billion, though down from $2.4 billion the previous year.[2](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/02/digital-game-spending-2019-record)
Physical retail continued to shrink. In the UK, pre-owned games accounted for 20.6% of total physical game sales in 2019, according to data firm Kantar.[8](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1567422325000110) Publishers' own figures show the same shift: [Electronic Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/electronic-arts)' packaged goods revenue fell from $1,542 million in fiscal 2018 to $1,112 million in fiscal 2019, while digital full game downloads shifted over the same span.[9](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/712515/000071251520000075/ea-20200930.htm) [Take-Two Interactive](https://www.edgepedia.org/take-two-interactive) reported digital sales at 63% of revenue in its most recent fiscal year, up from 52% in 2017.[10](https://time.com/5603329/e3-video-game-creators-union/)
## Releases and best sellers
About 7,058 video games came out in 2019, among them [Apex Legends](https://www.edgepedia.org/apex-legends), FIFA 20, and [Mortal Kombat 11](https://www.edgepedia.org/mortal-kombat-11).[6](https://releasescanner.app/releases/2019) In the United States, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare finished the year at No. 1 on the NPD Group's dollar-sales chart. NPD's tracked software dollar sales fell 9% for the full year to $6.6 billion, with December sales down 13% to $1.1 billion.[4](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/here-are-the-top-10-best-selling-games-of-2019-and/1100-6472832/) [Super Smash Bros. Ultimate](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-smash-bros-ultimate) became the best-selling fighting game in U.S. history by lifetime dollar sales, surpassing the previous record held by Super Smash Bros.
## Hardware and platform news
**Nintendo broadened the Switch family.** In July 2019 the company unveiled the Nintendo Switch Lite, a smaller, cheaper version of the console rethought exclusively for handheld use, with integrated non-removable controllers, a 5.5-inch display, and a $199.99 price on September 20. Nintendo of America president [Doug Bowser](https://www.edgepedia.org/doug-bowser) described it as an opportunity to bring more players into the Nintendo experience.[5](https://time.com/5622971/nintendo-switch-lite/)
**E3 2019 marked a transition.** Sony removed itself and [PlayStation](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation) from the year's E3 conference, leaving Microsoft to take center stage, where it announced its next console, code named Project Scarlett, due at the end of 2020 with [Halo Infinite](https://www.edgepedia.org/halo-infinite) as a launch game.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2019/jun/10/e3-2019-biggest-news-xbox-bethesda-ubisoft-nintendo-square-enix) CD Projekt Red brought out [Keanu Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/keanu-reeves) to reveal Cyberpunk 2077's release date, and Nintendo confirmed a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild alongside a 20 September date for its Link's Awakening remake.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2019/jun/10/e3-2019-biggest-news-xbox-bethesda-ubisoft-nintendo-square-enix) Microsoft later announced the next-generation Xbox Series X during The Game Awards in December 2019.[12](https://thegameawards.com/rewind/year-2019)
**Storefront competition intensified.** [Epic Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/epic-games), positioning its [Epic Games Store](https://www.edgepedia.org/epic-games-store) as a competitor to [Steam](https://www.edgepedia.org/steam-service), lost $232 million on the store in 2019, according to figures disclosed during the later Epic v. Apple litigation.[13](https://www.axios.com/2021/05/04/epic-games-apple-trial-finances) A survey of nearly 4,000 developers ahead of GDC 2020 found nearly half thought the Epic Games Store would be a long-term success.[14](https://reg.gdconf.com/gdc-state-of-game-industry-2020)
## What the year showed
The 2019 figures mark the point at which mobile and free-to-play models became the industry's financial center. Mobile took 45% of global software revenue and 73% of digital revenue share, while premium AAA spending fell 5% to $18.9 billion even as total digital spending set a record.[1](https://northeurope.blob.euroland.com/press-releases-attachments/1158979/HKEX-EPS_20190823_003592286-0.PDF) • [2](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/02/digital-game-spending-2019-record) The year also closed the eighth console generation: PS4 software sales were already declining in the UK, Sony skipped E3, and both Microsoft and Nintendo positioned new hardware or hardware variants for the transition ahead.[7](https://www.recordoftheday.com/on-the-move/news-press/entertainment-sales-enjoy-seventh-consecutive-year-of-growth-to-reach-78bn) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2019/jun/10/e3-2019-biggest-news-xbox-bethesda-ubisoft-nintendo-square-enix) • [5](https://time.com/5622971/nintendo-switch-lite/)
## References
1. [Newzoo Global Games Market Report 2019 figures, via HKEX filing](https://northeurope.blob.euroland.com/press-releases-attachments/1158979/HKEX-EPS_20190823_003592286-0.PDF)
2. [Digital game spending hit a record $109 billion in 2019, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2020/01/02/digital-game-spending-2019-record)
3. [U.S. Video Game Content Generated $35.4 Billion in Revenue for 2019, ESA](https://www.theesa.com/u-s-video-game-content-generated-35-4-billion-in-revenue-for-2019/)
4. [Here Are The Top 10 Best-Selling Games Of 2019 And The Decade (US), GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/here-are-the-top-10-best-selling-games-of-2019-and/1100-6472832/)
5. [We Tried the New Nintendo Switch Lite, TIME](https://time.com/5622971/nintendo-switch-lite/)
6. [Video games of 2019: all 7,058 releases, Release Scanner](https://releasescanner.app/releases/2019)
7. [Entertainment sales enjoy seventh consecutive year of growth, Record of the Day (ERA data)](https://www.recordoftheday.com/on-the-move/news-press/entertainment-sales-enjoy-seventh-consecutive-year-of-growth-to-reach-78bn)
8. [The merits of the pre-owned strategy, ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1567422325000110)
9. [Electronic Arts annual report (fiscal 2020), SEC](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/712515/000071251520000075/ea-20200930.htm)
10. [Video Game Creators Are Burned Out and Desperate for Change, TIME](https://time.com/5603329/e3-video-game-creators-union/)
11. [E3 2019: all the video game news, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2019/jun/10/e3-2019-biggest-news-xbox-bethesda-ubisoft-nintendo-square-enix)
12. [2019 Rewind, The Game Awards](https://thegameawards.com/rewind/year-2019)
13. [Legal fight with Apple exposes Epic Games' inner workings, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2021/05/04/epic-games-apple-trial-finances)
14. [2020 State of the Game Industry Report, GDC](https://reg.gdconf.com/gdc-state-of-game-industry-2020)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Game industry › Publishing, retail, and distribution › Video game industry and commerce (overview)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license