Overall, 2019 was a solid gaming year, even if the current Steam charts show that only a few games that actually appeared in the past year were among the top titles on Valve's distribution platform. SuperData figures also show which games generated the highest digital sales: FIFA 19 and Fortnite.
Fortnite dominates the free-to-play market
Divided into two segments, free-to-play and full price, two completely different games will dominate the digital sales market in 2019. However, there are no big surprises in the top lists. For many of the titles listed there, critics have predicted high sales in advance, sometimes because of the popularity of a brand, sometimes because of the gigantic number of players. One title in particular was able to continue its triumphant advance in the past year: Fortnite.
The battle royale shooter is still one of the world's most successful and popular video games. It is therefore not surprising that Fortnite from Epic Game was able to dominate the free-to-play market in 2019 as well. With a turnover of around 1,8 billion US dollars, the game takes the lead - but not ahead of Pokémon Go, because the augmented reality game is only in sixth place in terms of sales generated.
Dungeon Fighter Online and Honor of Kings (also Kings of Glory) are two games that are particularly popular in Asia, right behind Fortnite. Only behind them is the MOBA League of Legends and Candy Crush Saga, another game that belongs more in the “casual title” category.
The five top-selling free-to-play games:
- Fortnite
- Dungeon Fighter Online
- Honor of Kings
- League of Legends
- candy Crush Saga
The full-price titles are showing expected results. FIFA 19 has achieved high digital sales. On the revenue side, the football game has generated around 780 million US dollars. Behind this are strong brands such as Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto Overall, there are no surprises in the full-price titles.
- FIFA 19 coins
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Grand Theft Auto 5
- FIFA 20 coins
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Despite good sales figures, 2019 cannot be seen as a successful gaming year all over the world. In Great Britain, GfK saw a decline in sales of 3,4 percent* reported compared to the previous year. The shrinkage is not dramatic, but occurs again for the first time since 2012.
In 2020 the trend is likely to reverse: well-known game titles are about to be released, next-generation consoles are pushing onto the market and also a pro version of the Nintendo Switch there are first rumors.
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