SuperData: Games grew 12% to $139.9 billion in 2020 amid pandemic

The game industry grew 12% to $139.9 billion in 2020 from $120.1 billion in 2019 as many industries shrank during the pandemic, according to a report by market researcher SuperData. But for 2021, SuperData predicts that the game market will only grow 2% in 2021.

SuperData said the double-digit growth of the sector came as people said they played more games to combat boredom, escape from the real world, find a substitute for unavailable entertainment, and stay in touch with friends and family or meet new folks. Console games in particular took off during a year when two new consoles arrive, with revenues up 28% from a year earlier. But it also cautions that its numbers differ from other estimates of the game industry’s revenues, as they do not include the sale of physical discs, cartridges, and hardware like consoles.