2019 in video games
In the video game industry during 2019, both Sony and Microsoft announced their intent to reveal their next-generation consoles in 2020, while Nintendo introduced a smaller Nintendo Switch Lite, and Google announced its streaming game platform Stadia. The controversy over loot boxes as a potential gambling route continued into 2019, with some governments like Belgium and the Netherlands banning games with them under their gambling laws, while the United Kingdom acknowledging their current laws prevent enforcing these as if they were games of chance. The first video cards to support real-time ray tracing were put onto the consumer market, including the first set of games that would take advantage of the new technology. The Epic Games Store continued its growth in challenging the largest digital PC game distribution service Steam, leading to concern and debate about Epic Games' methods to seek games for its service. Dota Auto Chess, a community-created mod for Dota 2, introduced a new subgenre of strategy games called auto battlers, which saw several games in the genre released throughout the year. Blizzard Entertainment faced criticism due to their involvement in the Blitzchung controversy, which began after they had banned a Hearthstone player for making comments during a tournament regarding the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
Top-rated games
Major awards
Critically acclaimed games
is an aggregator of video game journalism reviews. It generally considers expansions and re-releases as separate entities.| Title | Developer | Release | Platform | Average score |
| ' | Larian Studios | September 4, 2019 | NS | 93 |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | Rockstar Studios | November 5, 2019 | Win | 93 |
| Resident Evil 2 | Capcom | January 25, 2019 | XBO | 93 |
| ' | FromSoftware | March 22, 2019 | XBO | 91 |
| Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers | Square Enix | July 2, 2019 | Win, PS4 | 91 |
| Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition | Square Enix | September 27, 2019 | NS | 91 |
| Disco Elysium | ZA/UM | October 15, 2019 | Win | 91 |
| ' | PlatinumGames | February 26, 2019 | PS4 | 91 |
| Resident Evil 2 | Capcom | January 25, 2019 | PS4 | 91 |
| ' | Capcom | September 6, 2019 | XBO | 90 |
| Tetris Effect | Monstars, Resonair | July 23, 2019 | Win | 90 |
| FromSoftware | March 22, 2019 | PS4 | 90 |
Financial performance
estimated that the video game industry grew 4% in 2019, reaching in global revenues. Superdata stated the market was dominated by mobile games which made up, with personal computer games at and console games at.App Annie, which tracks all mobile app sales, estimated that mobile games accounted for 72% of the spent on the various app stores in 2019, or, with the potential to exceed by 2020. Mobile game expenditures made up 56% of all video game-related revenues in 2019.
Highest-grossing games worldwide
The following were 2019's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide digital revenue across all platforms. The top ten highest-grossing digital games of 2019 were all free-to-play games. Six of the top ten highest-grossing games are published or owned by Tencent.| Rank | Game | Revenue | Publisher | Genre |
| 1 | Fortnite | $1,800,000,000 | Epic Games / Tencent | Battle royale |
| 2 | Dungeon Fighter Online | $1,600,000,000 | Nexon / Tencent | Beat 'em up |
| 3 | Honor of Kings / Arena of Valor | $1,600,000,000 | Tencent | MOBA |
| 4 | League of Legends | $1,500,000,000 | Riot Games / Tencent | MOBA |
| 5 | Candy Crush Saga | $1,500,000,000 | King | Puzzle |
| 6 | Pokémon Go | $1,400,000,000 | Niantic / The Pokémon Company | Augmented reality |
| 7 | CrossFire | $1,400,000,000 | Smilegate / Tencent | FPS |
| 8 | Fate/Grand Order | $1,200,000,000 | Aniplex / Sony Music Entertainment Japan | RPG |
| 9 | PUBG Mobile / Game for Peace | $1,200,000,000 | Bluehole / Tencent | Battle royale |
| 10 | Last Shelter: Survival | $1,100,000,000 | Long Tech | Simulation |
Best-selling games by country
The following were 2019's top ten best-selling video games by country, in terms of software units sold on PC and console platforms, for the United States, Japan, and United Kingdom.| Rank | United States | Japan | United Kingdom |
| 1 | ' | Pokémon Sword / Shield | FIFA 20 |
| 2 | NBA 2K20 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | ' |
| 3 | Madden NFL 20 | Kingdom Hearts III | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
| 4 | Borderlands 3 | Super Mario Maker 2 | ' |
| 5 | Mortal Kombat 11 | ' | Pokémon Sword / Shield |
| 6 | Kingdom Hearts III | New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe | Red Dead Redemption 2 |
| 7 | Tom Clancy's The Division 2 | ' | FIFA 19 |
| 8 | Pokémon Sword / Shield | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled |
| 9 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | ' | Grand Theft Auto V |
| 10 | Luigi's Mansion 3 | Tom Clancy's The Division 2 |
Major events
Hardware releases
The list of game-related hardware released in 2019 in North America.| Month | Day | Console |
| March | 25 | Mega Sg |
| May | 7 | Xbox One S All-Digital Edition |
| May | 21 | Oculus Rift S |
| May | 21 | Oculus Quest |
| June | 28 | Valve Index |
| September | 19 | Sega Genesis Mini |
| September | 20 | Nintendo Switch Lite |
| October | 10 | Atari Flashback X |
| October | 25 | Capcom Home Arcade |
| November | 11 | NEOGEO Arcade Stick Pro |
| November | 19 | Stadia |
| December | 5 | THEC64 |