Among continents, suppliers in Asia sold the highest dollar worth of exported video games during 2019 with shipments valued at $13 billion or 62.7% of the overall total. In second place were European exporters at 31.8% while 5.2% of worldwide shipments of video games originated from North America. Smaller percentages came from providers of video games in Oceania (0.3%) led by Australia, then Africa (0.01%) and Latin America (also 0.01%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 950450 for video game consoles and machines.
Gaming equipment operated by any means of payment is distinguished under HTS code 950430. Video games requiring money to play were worth $3.7 billion rising 0.8% since 2015 but down -15% from 2018 to 2019. Top 10 countries selling video games requiring user payment are the United States of America (24.6% of global total), China (15.4%), Austria (9%), Bulgaria (4.8%), United Kingdom (also 4.8%), Czech Republic (4.3%), Hong Kong (4.1%), Slovenia (4%), Australia (3.7%) and Germany (3.6%).
Top Video Games Exports by Country
Top 15
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of video games-related equipment during 2019, excluding video games requiring user payment to play.
- China: US$9.1 billion (43.9% of exported video games)
- Japan: $2.12 billion (10.2%)
- Netherlands: $2.1 billion (10.1%)
- Germany: $1.3 billion (6.1%)
- Hong Kong: $1.23 billion (5.9%)
- Poland: $1.23 billion (5.9%)
- United States: $854.9 million (4.1%)
- Spain: $800.1 million (3.8%)
- Vietnam: $364.2 million (1.8%)
- United Kingdom: $232.9 million (1.1%)
- Slovakia: $165.6 million (0.8%)
- Singapore: $159.3 million (0.8%)
- France: $131.9 million (0.6%)
- Mexico: $126.5 million (0.6%)
- Sweden: $118.2 million (0.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 96.3% of global video games exported in 2019.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of video games since 2015 were: Vietnam (up 7,284,740%), Spain (up 1,082%), Japan (up 377%) and Slovakia (up 167.4%).
Five countries posted declines in their sales of exported video games: Mexico (down -57%), United States (down -27.2%), United Kingdom (down -18.7%), France (down -3.9%) and Singapore (down -2.9%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for video games during 2019 excluding those that require user payment. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported video games and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- China: US$8.6 billion (net export surplus up 6.8% since 2015)
- Japan: $750.7 million (down -263.6%)
- Vietnam: $330 million (reversing a -$210,000 deficit)
- Hong Kong: $115.7 million (reversing a -$25.6 million deficit)
- Singapore: $15.5 million (up 2.7%)
- Slovakia: $7.2 million (reversing a -$6.6 million deficit)
- Paraguay: $636,000 (reversing a -$126.5 million deficit)
- Sierra Leone: $3,000 (no 2015 data)
- Tuvalu: $1,000 (no 2015 data)
- Christmas Island: $1,000 (no 2015 data)
By far, the People’s Republic of China generated the highest surplus in the international trade of video games. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms China’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for video games during 2019 excluding those that require user payment. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported video games purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$3.1 billion (net export deficit down -14.4% since 2015)
- France: -$939.7 million (up 42.7%)
- Germany: -$883.5 million (up 34.7%)
- United Kingdom: -$759 million (down -10.8%)
- Canada: -$423 million (down -11.7%)
- Mexico: -$342.4 million (up 35.2%)
- Italy: -$271.7 million (up 23.3%)
- Australia: -$255 million (down -3.1%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$249.6 million (up 520%)
- Poland: -$192 million (reversing a $79.4 million surplus)
- Russia: -$173.5 million (up 50.7%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$154.3 million (down -10.6%)
- South Korea: -$146.3 million (up 233.4%)
- Taiwan: -$143.1 million (up 283.8%)
- Switzerland: -$123.3 million (up 9.3%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of video games. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for video games-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Developers
Companies that Develop Video Games
Below are businesses that design and build video games for the international market. The home country for each company is shown within parenthesis.
- Crytek (Germany)
- Die Gute Fabrik (Denmark)
- Frictional Games (Sweden)
- Microsoft Studios (United States)
- Netease (China)
- Next Level Games Inc (Canada)
- Nihon Falcom Corporation (Japan)
- Pendulo Studios (Spain)
- Spil Games (Netherlands)
- Techland (Poland)
- Typhoon Games Ltd (Hong Kong)
- VoxelStorm Ltd (United Kingdom)
Searchable List of Video Games Exporters in 2019
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns. Note: excluded are video games that require user payment to play. Also, an entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2018 data was unavailable.
| Rank | Exporter | Exported Video Games (US$) | 2018-9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | $9,131,034,000 | -17.3% |
| 2. | Japan | $2,121,841,000 | -8.5% |
| 3. | Netherlands | $2,101,325,000 | -10.6% |
| 4. | Germany | $1,271,062,000 | -10.6% |
| 5. | Hong Kong | $1,233,320,000 | -39.9% |
| 6. | Poland | $1,225,878,000 | -16.2% |
| 7. | United States | $854,859,000 | -21.8% |
| 8. | Spain | $800,126,000 | +3.8% |
| 9. | Vietnam | $364,242,000 | +216,711% |
| 10. | United Kingdom | $232,874,000 | -29.5% |
| 11. | Slovakia | $165,570,000 | -7.8% |
| 12. | Singapore | $159,343,000 | +39.8% |
| 13. | France | $131,897,000 | +20.7% |
| 14. | Mexico | $126,489,000 | -12.6% |
| 15. | Sweden | $118,156,000 | -26.9% |
| 16. | Canada | $107,623,000 | -3.8% |
| 17. | Czech Republic | $107,319,000 | +9.9% |
| 18. | Belgium | $102,742,000 | +4.6% |
| 19. | Denmark | $99,101,000 | -34.2% |
| 20. | Australia | $57,296,000 | +2.5% |
| 21. | Austria | $37,211,000 | +37.8% |
| 22. | Italy | $33,050,000 | -37.9% |
| 23. | Romania | $26,624,000 | +193.7% |
| 24. | Russia | $24,156,000 | +40.8% |
| 25. | Bulgaria | $21,524,000 | +53.5% |
| 26. | Lithuania | $17,538,000 | -52.5% |
| 27. | Finland | $13,721,000 | +15.4% |
| 28. | Malaysia | $12,589,000 | +9.2% |
| 29. | Ireland | $12,204,000 | -11.3% |
| 30. | Greece | $12,137,000 | -9.4% |
| 31. | Taiwan | $11,669,000 | -31.9% |
| 32. | Croatia | $11,430,000 | -30.2% |
| 33. | Hungary | $9,432,000 | -11.8% |
| 34. | Slovenia | $7,622,000 | -48.1% |
| 35. | Switzerland | $5,890,000 | +165.9% |
| 36. | Portugal | $5,735,000 | +155.7% |
| 37. | Latvia | $4,293,000 | -17.4% |
| 38. | United Arab Emirates | $4,025,000 | -98.6% |
| 39. | Norway | $3,217,000 | +7% |
| 40. | Indonesia | $3,002,000 | +3,903% |
| 41. | South Korea | $2,636,000 | +48.1% |
| 42. | Estonia | $2,243,000 | +2.8% |
| 43. | South Africa | $2,219,000 | -25.2% |
| 44. | Belarus | $2,112,000 | +81.3% |
| 45. | Israel | $1,517,000 | -59.6% |
| 46. | India | $1,431,000 | +117.1% |
| 47. | Luxembourg | $930,000 | -52.4% |
| 48. | Turkey | $921,000 | +1.2% |
| 49. | Serbia | $782,000 | -56.7% |
| 50. | Paraguay | $636,000 | 0% |
| 51. | Ukraine | $626,000 | -57.6% |
| 52. | Chile | $589,000 | +403.4% |
| 53. | Tunisia | $388,000 | +7,660% |
| 54. | Thailand | $354,000 | +413% |
| 55. | Andorra | $310,000 | +3,344% |
| 56. | Peru | $306,000 | +59.4% |
| 57. | Panama | $262,000 | -73.6% |
| 58. | Brazil | $213,000 | -64.2% |
| 59. | New Zealand | $212,000 | -43% |
| 60. | Morocco | $134,000 | 0% |
| 61. | Colombia | $71,000 | -34.3% |
| 62. | Cyprus | $56,000 | +5,500% |
| 63. | North Macedonia | $54,000 | -14.3% |
| 64. | Costa Rica | $42,000 | +133.3% |
| 65. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $38,000 | +18.8% |
| 66. | Aruba | $38,000 | 0% |
| 67. | Guatemala | $35,000 | 0% |
| 68. | Kazakhstan | $30,000 | -45.5% |
| 69. | Eswatini | $19,000 | 0% |
| 70. | Philippines | $18,000 | -88.1% |
| 71. | Namibia | $11,000 | -47.6% |
| 72. | French Polynesia | $5,000 | 0% |
| 73. | Afghanistan | $5,000 | 0% |
| 74. | Malta | $4,000 | +33.3% |
| 75. | Egypt | $4,000 | 0% |
| 76. | Burkina Faso | $3,000 | +50% |
| 77. | Sierra Leone | $3,000 | 0% |
| 78. | Georgia | $3,000 | +50% |
| 79. | Honduras | $3,000 | 0% |
| 80. | El Salvador | $2,000 | -80% |
| 81. | Angola | $2,000 | -50% |
| 82. | Azerbaijan | $2,000 | +100% |
| 83. | Armenia | $2,000 | -90% |
| 84. | Cambodia | $2,000 | 0% |
| 85. | Cameroon | $2,000 | -50% |
| 86. | Zambia | $2,000 | 0% |
| 87. | Uzbekistan | $1,000 | 0% |
| 88. | Venezuela | $1,000 | -91.7% |
| 89. | Tuvalu | $1,000 | 0% |
| 90. | Mozambique | $1,000 | 0% |
| 91. | Kuwait | $1,000 | -99.2% |
| 92. | Lebanon | $1,000 | -94.4% |
| 93. | Qatar | $1,000 | 0% |
| 94. | Christmas Island | $1,000 | 0% |
| 95. | Botswana | $1,000 | -50% |
| 96. | Ghana | $1,000 | 0% |
| 97. | Iraq | $1,000 | 0% |
See also Electronic Circuit Component Exports by Country, Top Industrial Robots Exporters and Heart Pacemaker Export Sales by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for video games. Accessed on May 21, 2020
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 21, 2020
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 21, 2020
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 21, 2020
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 21, 2020
Wikipedia, List of video game developers. Accessed on May 21, 2020
Wikipedia, Video game industry. Accessed on May 21, 2020
