Apple earned the third-most gaming revenue in 2021, outpacing Microsoft & Nintendo

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited May 2022
In 2021, Apple ranked third in gaming revenue amongst global public companies, just behind Sony and ahead of Microsoft.

Gaming on iPhone
Gaming on iPhone


The iPhone maker pulled in an estimated $15.3 billion in total games revenue throughout 2021, an increase of 17.7% year-over-year, according to analysts at NewZoo.

In first place was Tencent, a Chinese company that owns titles such as "League of Legends" and "PUBG Mobile." The company earned $32.2 billion in 2021, 9.9% higher than the previous year. Sony took second place with $18.2 billion in revenue, though that represented a 2.3% decline year-over-year.

Alongside Google, Apple is one of the largest platform holders for mobile gaming. While Apple has its own gaming service, the vast majority of its gaming revenue is undoubtedly sourced from third-party games on the App Store.

Both Apple and Google take between a 15% and 30% cut of app and in-app purchases on the platform.

The report notes that hardware-centric provides like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo did not grow as much as expected. Pressures on the supply chain hampered all three.

However it also says that big mergers and consolidations will impact the 2022 calendar should everything come to fruition. Sony has recently acquired Destiny developer Bungie, and Microsoft is purchasing Activision/Blizzard.




This is not the first time that Apple has outpaced traditional gaming companies. In 2019, the Cupertino tech giant was said to have earned more from gaming than Nintendo, Microsoft, Activision-Blizzard, and Sony combined.

Apple does not break out revenue by individual app categories in its overall Services revenue. However, gaming is known to be a massive revenue driver for the company's Services segment.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    Now we know the real reason Microsoft spent so much for Bizzard. Apple’s with its lack of focus on gaming was beating their 20 years of “real” gaming focus and efforts to lock Apple out of it. The Addition of Blizzard puts them at number two instead of Apple. At least on paper. They paid 10 years worth of its revenue which is likely 20+ years to recoup via its profit. 

    Compared to Beats where Apple spent 1 year of their revenue and got huge additions to two divisions that transformed them in short order. 


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 6
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Bit sad that only two of the top eight are proper games companies.

    Also weird that Sony are dropping when they seem to be doing really well.  I guess they may be more exposed to hardware shortages than the others.
  • Reply 3 of 6
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    Just goes to show there are a lot more casual gamers than any other group. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 6
    pulseimagespulseimages Posts: 600member
    That’s amazing since Apple Arcade lacks killer games. 
  • Reply 5 of 6
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,284member
    crowley said:
    Bit sad that only two of the top eight are proper games companies.

    Also weird that Sony are dropping when they seem to be doing really well.  I guess they may be more exposed to hardware shortages than the others.

    May have nothing to do with hardware? Not as familiar with Sony's exclusive titles, but if it was an "off year" for the Sony-developed games or one of them was delayed, it might account for the minor drop in game sales
  • Reply 6 of 6
    danvmdanvm Posts: 1,409member
    genovelle said:
    Now we know the real reason Microsoft spent so much for Bizzard. Apple’s with its lack of focus on gaming was beating their 20 years of “real” gaming focus and efforts to lock Apple out of it. The Addition of Blizzard puts them at number two instead of Apple. At least on paper. They paid 10 years worth of its revenue which is likely 20+ years to recoup via its profit. 

    Compared to Beats where Apple spent 1 year of their revenue and got huge additions to two divisions that transformed them in short order. 


    I don't think MS thought of Apple when acquiring Activision / Blizzard, considering they are in different gaming markets.  Most or Apple revenue in gaming is related to the App Store, and not because of  Apple Arcade, or Apple being a game developer / publisher.  MS is a game developer / publisher, plus have services like GamePass, that is miles ahead compared to Apple Arcade.  

    IMO, the acquisition is more about GamePass.  After the acquisition, MS will have massive games as COD and Overwatch, among many other names they can add to GamePass.  Maybe Apple is worry of MS dominating gaming and services, and that's the reason they have rules to reject services like GamePass.  
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