Call of Duty earned $1.95 BILLION in 2020, $200M more than 2nd best League of Legends

As 2020 has wrapped up, reports have revealed total eSports earnings, highlighting which games have earned the most during the COVID-19-affected year. It is widely being claimed that the popular game Call of Duty has earned an amount nearing $2 billion. However, this time, the game earned more than the League of Legends by a large $0.2 billion.

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Call of Duty earnings

As per reports, the Call of Duty (Modern Warfare and Warzone) has earned $1,913,000,000 in 2020. Reports had apparently assumed COD would do well last year – considering it's popularity soared as the COVID-19 pandemic continued. The game beat League of Legends, though the latter maintained its growth, widening their player base. However, going into 2021, the $200 million gap could widen. If you combine the revenue Activision gained from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the game has earned around $3 billion. 

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It won't surprise some people but Call of Duty made more money in 2020 than League of Legends

CoD made $1.95 billion including nearly $700 million in just a 2 month span

LoL made $1.75 billion

Mixer went broke

— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky)

League of Legends earnings

As per reports, Riot Games, which ventured into Legends of Runeterra and VALORANT, has not affected revenue generated by LoL. While their revenue was not as high as COD, the game raked in $1.75 billion, which is more than the $1.5 billion in 2019. Reports also pointed out that game revenue (including free to play games) has increased overall. 

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Have Esports earnings 2020 suffered like professional sports leagues?

Tencent’s Honor of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite, according to reports, have brought in $2.45 and $2.32 billion respectively. The gaming industry has seen a 12 percent growth after 2019, where regions like North America, Europe and even Asia saw growth owing to countless competitions. A Dot Esports reports spoke about FTP games dominating, garnering 60 percent of the Asian Market's revenue (around $2 billion). 

However, cancellation of events has also said to have affected the industry. Events were cancelled, making players lose revenue that could have been generated if an in-person tournament was held. Call of Duty itself cancelled their World Championship, while Epic Games cancelled the Fortnite World Cup. 

GAME	REVENUE (USD)
Call of Duty	$1,913,000,000
FIFA 20	$1,083,000,000
Grand Theft Auto 5	$911,000,000
NBA 2K21	$889,000,000
NBA 2K20	$771,000,000
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War	$678,000,000
Animal Crossing: New Horizons	$654,000,000

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(Image credits: Call of Duty, League of Legends website)