2019 Year in Review: Digital Games and Interactive Media

This report, published by SuperData (a Nielsen company) as a 2019 year-in-review, surveys the global digital games and interactive media market, covering mobile, PC, console, gaming video content (GVC), and extended reality (XR) segments. It draws on digital point-of-sale data from publishers, developers, and payment providers, with monthly spending attributed to 185 million paying digital gamers worldwide, supplemented by qualitative consumer research and Nielsen Esports measurement of sponsorship activity.

The headline finding is that digital games revenue reached $109.4 billion in 2019, up 3% year over year, while the broader interactive media sector grew about 4%. Growth was driven by free-to-play titles, which accounted for roughly 80% of digital games revenue, with mobile contributing $64.4 billion and about three-fifths of total spending. Premium game revenue declined 5% to $18.9 billion, reflecting a year with fewer blockbuster releases than 2018. Fortnite remained the top free-to-play title with $1.8 billion in revenue, and Apex Legends emerged as a rapid success through a streamer-centered launch strategy.

Other key data points include GVC audiences growing 5% to 944 million viewers, with Twitch and YouTube competing through exclusivity deals; non-endemic brands rising to 60% of esports sponsorships; and VR revenue climbing 26% to $6.3 billion, propelled by standalone headsets such as the Oculus Quest, which accounted for 49% of VR shipments. The report projects total market revenue of $124.8 billion for 2020, anticipating strong premium releases and a console transition to next-generation hardware.