A wealth of data and interesting information has come out of the Federal Trade Commission’s court hearing on Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. One of those pieces of information is how much money console manufacturers and game development studios make in terms of software revenue. Data submitted for 2021 shows that Nintendo generates far more revenue from the first sale of video games compared to Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation Studios) and Xbox Game Studios. In 2021, Nintendo earned $5.18 billion in software revenue alone, compared to Sony Interactive Entertainment ($2.1 billion) and Xbox Game Studios ($1.372 billion). It should be noted that Nintendo rarely offers significant discounts on their games for first parties, while Sony and Microsoft are quite quick to discount their games here in the UK. Xbox Game Pass subscription includes first-party games on Xbox consoles. Still, it’s very impressive on Nintendo’s part as their software revenue is far higher than any of its rivals.
Revenue from publishing in the console market in 2021
- Nintendo – $5.18 billion
- Electronic Arts – $4.508 billion
- Take-Two Interactive – $2.352 billion
- Sony Interactive Entertainment – $2.1 billion
- Activision-Blizzard – $2.072 billion
- Epic Games – $1.708 billion
- Ubisoft – $1.428 billion
- Xbox Game Studios – $1.372 billion
- Bandai Namco – $980 million
- (Others not listed)
