2020 in video games
In the video game industry, 2020 saw the launch of the next generation of video game consoles, with both Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment having released the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles, respectively, in November 2020. The industry was heavily affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which had begun in March and was characterized by COVID-19 lockdowns and remote work. While this caused numerous delays in software and hardware releases and the cancellation of live conferences and events in favor of virtual shows, it also created a boom for the industry as people turned to gaming as a means to pass the time. The industry also reacted to various political/cultural events.
Mobile gaming continued its growth as a major platform for video gaming; as part of this, Epic Games initiated the Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit over mobile app store revenue cut policies. Major planned acquisitions included Xbox Game Studios' acquisition of ZeniMax Media and its subsidiaries, and Electronic Arts outbidding Take-Two Interactive for Codemasters.
Series with new installments include Animal Crossing, Assassin's Creed, Bloodstained, Bomberman, Call of Duty, Cook, Serve, Delicious!, Cookie Run, Crash Bandicoot, Danganronpa, Deadly Premonition, Dirt, Doom, Dragon Ball, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Granblue Fantasy, Half-Life, Kingdom Hearts, Kirby, The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda, Mafia, Mana, Medal of Honor, Megami Tensei, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Minecraft, MLB: The Show, Mystery Dungeon, Nioh, Oddworld, One Piece, Ori, Paper Mario, Persona, Project CARS, Resident Evil, Rune Factory, Serious Sam, Shantae, Spelunky, Spider-Man, Star Wars, Streets of Rage, Super Mario, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Total War, Trails, Vampire: The Masquerade, Wasteland, Watch Dogs, Windjammers, Yakuza, Command and Conquer, and Zombie Army.
Legend
Hardware releases
The list of game-related hardware released in 2020.| Date | Console | Manufacturer | |
| May 22 | Evercade | Blaze Entertainment | |
| May 22 | TurboGrafx-16 Mini | Konami | |
| June 6 | Game Gear Micro | Sega | |
| October 13 | Oculus Quest 2 | Reality Labs | |
| November 10 | Xbox Series X and Series S | Microsoft | |
| November 12 | PlayStation 5 | Sony | |
| November 13 | Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. | Nintendo | |
| December 14 | Atari VCS | Atari |
Major hardware discontinuations in 2020 include the Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital versions, which were discontinued on July 16. The Nintendo 3DS family was discontinued on September 17.
Financial performance
The global market for video games based on 2020 revenues was estimated to exceed according to the International Data Corporation; the growth of 20% over 2019 revenues is attributes to the surge in spending in video games from the COVID-19 pandemic along with the releases of the new consoles.SuperData Research estimated the global video game market grew by 12% in 2020 to a total in revenues. Mobile games accounted for over or 58% of the market, with computer games at and console games at. Virtual and augmented reality had about, while video gaming content such as online streamers generated an additional.
Newzoo estimated the global market for video games in 2020 was, a 23.1% increase from 2019, buoyed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Newzoo anticipated that the 2021 market will see a small decline as the world recovers from COVID-19 and spending on video games slows down, but otherwise the industry would remain on track to break in revenue by 2023.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, while the overall global entertainment and media market dropped by 3.8% during 2020, the video game market grew by 10% over the year, due to the use of video games to help with social distancing during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Largest markets
According to market research firm Newzoo, the following countries were the largest video game markets in 2020.| Rank | Country | Revenue |
| 1 | China | $45,642,000,000 |
| 2 | United States | $39,065,000,000 |
| 3 | Japan | $20,763,000,000 |
| 4 | South Korea | $7,530,000,000 |
| 5 | Germany | $5,702,000,000 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $5,117,000,000 |
| 7 | France | $4,024,000,000 |
| 8 | Canada | $3,551,000,000 |
| 9 | Italy | $3,205,000,000 |
| 10 | Brazil | $2,288,000,000 |
Highest-grossing games
The following are the top ten highest-grossing video games of 2020. Each of the top ten titles grossed more than, while the top four grossed more than each. The majority of the top ten titles are published by Asian companies, including three from Chinese conglomerate Tencent which holds the top two spots.| Rank | Game | Revenue | Publisher | Genre | Business model | |
| 1 | PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds | $2,824,000,000 | Tencent / Bluehole | Battle royale | Free-to-play / buy-to-play | |
| 2 | Honor of Kings / Arena of Valor | $2,564,000,000 | Tencent | MOBA | Free-to-play | |
| 3 | Roblox | $2,290,000,000 | Roblox Corporation | GCS, MMO | Free-to-play | |
| 4 | Garena Free Fire | $2,130,000,000 | Garena | Battle royale | Free-to-play | |
| 5 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons | $2,000,000,000 | Nintendo | Social sim | Buy-to-play | |
| 6 | Pokémon Go | $1,920,000,000 | Niantic / Nintendo | AR | Free-to-play | |
| 7 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare / Warzone | $1,913,000,000 | Activision | FPS, Battle royale | Buy-to-play / free-to-play | |
| 8 | League of Legends | $1,750,000,000 | Riot Games / Tencent | MOBA | Free-to-play | |
| 9 | Candy Crush Saga | $1,660,000,000 | King | Puzzle | Free-to-play | |
| 10 | AFK Arena | $1,450,000,000 | Lilith Games | RPG | Free-to-play |
Highest-grossing free-to-play games
The following titles were the top ten highest-grossing free-to-play games in 2020. Three of the top ten free-to-play titles are published by Tencent, which holds the top two spots.| Rank | Game | Revenue | Publisher | Genre | |
| 1 | PUBG Mobile / Game for Peace | $2,700,000,000 | Tencent / Bluehole | Battle royale | |
| 2 | Honor of Kings / Arena of Valor | $2,564,000,000 | Tencent | MOBA | |
| 3 | Roblox | $2,290,000,000 | Roblox Corporation | GCS, MMO | |
| 4 | Garena Free Fire | $2,130,000,000 | Garena | Battle royale | |
| 5 | Pokémon Go | $1,920,000,000 | Niantic / Nintendo | AR | |
| 6 | League of Legends | $1,750,000,000 | Riot Games / Tencent | MOBA | |
| 7 | Candy Crush Saga | $1,660,000,000 | King | Puzzle | |
| 8 | AFK Arena | $1,450,000,000 | Lilith Games | RPG | |
| 9 | Gardenscapes: New Acres | $1,430,000,000 | Playrix | Puzzle | |
| 10 | Dungeon Fighter Online | $1,410,000,000 | Nexon / Tencent | Brawler, Action RPG |
Fortnite grossed more than in 2020, but less than. It fell out of the top ten, dropping from its top spot in 2019.
Best-selling premium games
The following titles were the best-selling premium games in 2020. Three of the top ten best-selling titles are published by Nintendo, including the year's top-selling game.| Rank | Game | Units sold | Revenue | Genre | Publisher |
| 1 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons | 31,800,000 | $2,000,000,000 | Social sim | Nintendo |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | FPS, Battle royale | Activision | ||
| 3 | FIFA 20 | $1,083,000,000 | Sports | EA Sports | |
| 4 | Grand Theft Auto V / Online | 20,000,000 | $911,000,000 | Action-adventure | Rockstar Games |
| 5 | Cyberpunk 2077 | 13,000,000 | $609,000,000 | Action RPG | CD Projekt |
| 6 | Among Us | 12,700,000 | Party, Social deduction | Innersloth | |
| 7 | Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout | 11,000,000 | Battle royale, Platformer | Devolver Digital | |
| 8 | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Racing | Nintendo | ||
| 9 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars | 8,320,000 | Platformer | Nintendo | |
| 10 | NBA 2K21 | 8,000,000 | $889,000,000 | Sports | 2K Sports |