Disney Says Nine of Its Gaming Franchises Have Crossed $1 Billion Each — and It's Just Getting Started
Nine Disney gaming franchises have each grossed more than US$1 billion at retail, the company revealed in a blog post ahead of its D23 fan event. Sean Shoptaw, Disney's EVP of Global Games, wrote that video games are now "a fundamental part of the broader entertainment landscape" — and the numbers back him up. Disney Games exceeded US$4 billion in consumer spend in the past fiscal year, up from roughly US$3.5 billion annualised across the previous four. (The Walt Disney Company, GameSpot)
The billion-dollar club includes Kingdom Hearts, the long-running Square Enix crossover series that blends Disney characters with original role-playing action, and Marvel Strike Force, a mobile team-battler. Shoptaw noted that more than half of the nine franchises reached the milestone only in the past 12 years, signalling how much of Disney's gaming revenue is driven by recent titles rather than legacy brands alone. (GameSpot)
One of the breakout stories is Marvel Rivals, a team-based shooter that has attracted 40 million players worldwide. Sixty percent of those players are under 24. The game also supports the largest Discord community in gaming — more than 4.4 million members — and generated over 285 million Twitch viewing hours in 2025. (The Walt Disney Company)
On the mobile side, Disney's Disney & Pixar Games portfolio, which includes Disney Solitaire, Disney Tsum Tsum and Disney Magic Kingdoms, has surpassed 1 billion installs since 2014. Lucasfilm Games, meanwhile, now spans more than 20 genres across every major gaming platform. (The Walt Disney Company)
Shoptaw's vision for what comes next is specific: Disney wants original games that tell new stories, not movie tie-ins. He cited Marvel's Wolverine, developed by Insomniac Games and scheduled to arrive in September, as the kind of project the company is chasing — a game built for the medium rather than timed to a film release. A second new franchise, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, is also in development. (The Walt Disney Company)
Disney has also placed a large bet on Epic Games, investing more than US$1.5 billion in the Fortnite creator. Shoptaw called the partnership "really important," though details of what the two companies are building together remain limited. (GameSpot)
Underlying the strategy is a generational argument. Shoptaw said gaming platforms are where Gen Z and Gen Alpha — broadly, people born from the late 1990s through the early 2010s and beyond — primarily spend their time socialising with friends. The implication is straightforward: if Disney wants to reach younger audiences where they already are, games are not a side channel.
For fans, the shift means more titles like Wolverine and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls — original stories set in familiar worlds — and fewer games designed to ship alongside a theatrical release. Whether that approach sustains the billion-dollar pace Disney has set is a question the next few releases will answer.
