Boom Times in a Troubled Neighborhood

The video game industry has prospered in the pandemic. The fun comes at a cost

- David Rocks

The pandemic has sent Hollywood into a tailspin, plunged travel into its deepest funk in memory, and left restaurant owners on the brink of starvation. And video game makers? They’re thriving. People stuck at home for months picked up controllers and consoles to ease the lockdown blues by stealing cars, hunting zombies, and planting trees in villages full of talking animals. The industry’s second-quarter U.S. sales jumped 30% from the previous year, to $11.6 billion, according to researcher NPD Group Inc. Shares of Activision Blizzard Inc. are up 46% this year, Nintendo Co.’s profits quintupled from April through June, and Roblox—a game platform where kids hang out and teachers sneak lessons into the mix (page 21)— climbed from 115 million users in February to 150 million in July. Electronic Arts Inc., maker of games such as Madden NFL and FIFA soccer, says it added “tens of millions” of new players during the outbreak. “This is an unprecedented time, and it was an unprecedented first quarter for our business,” Andrew Wilson, EA’s chief executive officer, told investors on July 30.