Apple is reportedly on top when it comes to video game revenue, despite not developing consoles or major AAA games of its own.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple made $8.5 billion in operating profits from gaming in 2019. According to the post, this totals more than Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and Activision combined.
Because the company doesn't make or sell dedicated gaming consoles or have a major game development division, most of these profits come from third-party games on the App Store. Apple gets revenue by taking a 30% cut from all purchases made on the App Store.
Players reportedly spend $45 billion on mobile games on the App Store in the 2020 fiscal year. The top two regions for spending were China and the U.S. Going forward, Apple may see less revenue coming in from China, as the Chinese government recently set a three-hour limit for kids playing online games.
The top 1% of spenders made up for over 64% of sales on the App Store, spending about $2,694 each year. These players are known as "whales", and are often the target for microtransactions in free-to-play games.
The numbers the Journal used came to light as part of the recent antitrust trial between Apple and Epic, the developers of Fortnite. However, Apple says the numbers discussed were flawed and too high.
The trial ended with Apple effectively banning Fortnite from returning to its App Store for years. The battle started when Epic said Apple's 30% fee on every purchase in Fortnite was, "commission-theft." Other developers have also pushed back on Apple's App Store policies.
Apple just released its new line of iPhones, and you can check out how it handles video games in our iPhone 13 Pro review.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.