est. 1980
Pac-Man
began as a video game
$15.4Bestimated lifetime revenue
Game EconomyGames make up 93% of the revenue we could break down. We use this label at 50% or more.
- Retail & merch6.5%
- Games93%
- Other<1%
No. 25 of 99, ranked by estimated lifetime revenue
What we know
Sources checked to
- Estimated lifetime revenue
- $15.4BMoney taken in before costs. This is not profit or company value.
- Biggest source of revenue
- Games 93%of the revenue we can break down
- Verified rights holder
- Bandai Namco EntertainmentParent group: Bandai Namco Holdings
- Where it began
- 1980 · a video game
- How sure is this estimate?
- Solid estimateThe sources are strong across all five checks.
- Where the number comes from
- scored 2 out of 4
- What the number measures
- scored 3 out of 4
- How recent the estimate is
- scored 4 out of 4
- How much of the total is itemised
- scored 4 out of 4
- Double-counting risk
- scored 4 out of 4
Rights and ownership
Verified current rights holder: Bandai Namco Entertainment · parent group: Bandai Namco Holdings
Holds master franchise control.
See all verified rights (1)
| Right | Holder | Territory | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master franchise control | Bandai Namco Entertainment | Worldwide | 1980 |
How the money mix changed
began as a video game, 1980
Games
biggest revenue source in this data
Games
7% of the revenue we can break down now comes from outside games
More ways to compare it
We calculate these numbers from the records above. The formulas are on the Receipts page. If the data is not strong enough, we leave a number out.
- Share from merchandise
- 6%
- How varied the revenue is
- 12 / 100
- Revenue beyond where it started
- 7%
- Average revenue per year
- $335M per year
- lifetime average, not the current yearly rate
- Online interest compared with revenue
- not shown: search-interest data was unavailable at snapshot time
One more story
Pac-Man Fever, a novelty single about the game, reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 — the rare case of a maze producing a hit record. For the thirtieth birthday in 2010, Google made its homepage logo playable for 48 hours; one time-tracking firm put the cost at 4.8 million lost working hours.
Sources and calculationsshow detailshide details
| Channel | Value | Share | Confidence | Source | Checked on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail & merch | $1B | 6.5% | solid estimate | List of highest-grossing media franchises — Wikipedia | 2026-09-03 |
| Games | $14.4B | 93% | solid estimate | List of highest-grossing media franchises — Wikipedia | 2026-09-03 |
| Other | $32M | <1% | solid estimate | List of highest-grossing media franchises — Wikipedia | 2026-09-03 |
| Total | $15.4B | 100% |
estimated lifetime revenue · checked 2026-09-03