New research conducted by U4GM, a leading online marketplace for virtual currency and in-game items, reveals the highest-grossing video games of 2024. Using analytics from Steam, the study highlights that Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble, and Satisfactory are among the top earners, reflecting significant trends in the rapidly growing gaming market.

With the gaming industry projected to reach a market size of $282.30 billion by year-end, the research underscores how video games are cementing themselves as a billion-dollar industry. 

This study by U4GM utilised revenue per day as the ranking criterion to account for varying release dates. Data was derived from sales on Steam, and games were categorised by the length of time their revenue data was available.

“Gaming is no longer a niche, nerdy hobby; it’s a global economic powerhouse,” commented Wai-Fai Cou from U4GM.

Top-grossing games in different sales categories 2024

To ensure fairness in assessing recent releases, U4GM divided the games into three categories based on their sales data duration:

Table 1: Best-performing video games with under a week’s sales data

The data highlights the success of games with less than a week’s sales data. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, an expansion of the widely celebrated Elden Ring, ranks first in this category, generating a daily revenue of $66,650,000 from its release on June 21, 2024. 

“This expansion to a previously released game making so much is an interesting indication of what gamers are looking for,” says Wai-Fai Cou. “This shows they’re ravenous for more of their favourite stories, which might influence developers to invest in more expansions.”

Satisfactory, a factory-building simulation released on September 11, follows, with a daily revenue of $37,600,000. Completing the top three, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection brings in $850,000 per day. Cou notes the popularity of familiar stories and characters, suggesting that fans’ attachment to existing franchises plays a major role in these games’ successes.

Table 2: Highest-grossing video games with under a month’s sales data

For games with under a month’s data, Black Myth: Wukong emerges as the clear frontrunner, generating an astounding $36,172,000 per day since its release on August 20. The game’s design, rooted in the Chinese myth of Sun Wukong from Journey to the West, has resonated strongly with audiences in both Eastern and Western markets. 

“Sun Wukong is arguably one of the most popular mythical figures in Chinese culture, which is probably why it’s been popular there,” says Cou. “Interest in Chinese media has been growing in the West for the last few years, and there’s been a lot of hype around this game, which is why its sales have reached these amazing figures.”

Second in this category is Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II, which earned $10,022,222 per day since September 5. Cou attributed the success of Warhammer to its deep-rooted IP and loyal fan base. Zenless Zone Zero, from the creators of Genshin Impact, ranked third with $3,612,903 per day, drawing fans with its popular gacha-based microtransaction model.

Table 3: Best performing video games with over a month’s sales data

Among games with over a month’s data, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble, with its customisation features and multiplayer mode, achieved a daily revenue of $6,743,243 since its June release. 

“The real draw of this game is that it has both an offline and online mode, meaning you can play by yourself or with friends,” says Cou. “It also has over 300 items you can use to customise your character and a lottery system that gives players the chance to earn even more items.”

“It’s also attracted a ton of new players to the game, which is perfect for a live service game,” he added.

Final Fantasy XIV Online: Dawntrail, an expansion to the successful Final Fantasy XIV, ranks second, drawing $6,513,513 per day. Third place goes to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, a remake of the iconic Final Fantasy VII, which earned $3,386,613 daily.

Overall trends in the gaming industry

The U4GM study shows that Black Myth: Wukong achieved the highest total revenue in 2024 so far. However, in terms of revenue per day, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree surpassed all, suggesting potential longevity in high earnings. The findings also indicate that players are drawn to games rooted in well-known franchises or stories, with games like Final Fantasy XIV and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD capturing dedicated fans. Notably, independent IPs like Satisfactory and Black Myth: Wukong defied this trend by proving they could succeed without a pre-existing fanbase.

“One interesting trend to note is that most of these games are related to another popular game, IP, or developer in some way. For example, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Luigi’s Mansion 2 are both entries in the Mario series of games, arguably the most successful IP in video gaming. 

Other famous series like Castlevania and Ace Attorney are also represented here. This trend suggests that gamers are likely to gravitate towards IPs they already know and trust. This means it’s a real achievement when games like Black Myth: Wukong and Satisfactory, which don’t have a series to back them up, prove they’re good enough to amass huge profits. 

I think in the future, we’ll see this trend develop further, meaning games will truly have to prove themselves to their audience before they can make big profits. That’s healthy for the gaming industry, as it means a focus on the quality of a game’s design, gameplay, and story”, said Cou.