League of Legends Earns $624 Million in 2013
New Report Reveals the Power of F2P Model
A report from research group SuperData reveals earnings for "League of Legends" totaling $624 million in 2013. While this is a colossal number for a free-to-play game, it is still only two thirds of the earnings generated by "Crossfire", a popular Korean free-to-play FPS at $957 million.
While "World of Warcraft" may have seen drops in recent years, it is still managed a respectable $213 million in 2013, placing 7th overall. Valve closes out the list with 9 and 10 occupied by "Team Fortress 2" and "Counter-Strike Online" respectively.
Looking at the gaming market more generally, SuperData reports a 11% increase in game sales for 2013, pulling in $11,766 million. December's sales alone saw an increase of 36% from $862 million in 2012 to $1.2 billion in 2013.
If nothing else, this list is testimony to the emerging force videogames are becoming in popular culture. Massive sales from these free-to-play titles are just the tip of the iceberg, and with the next generation of consoles hitting the shelves worldwide this year, the sales list for 2014 should be an interesting read.
