More than half of Americans faced coronavirus-fueled cabin fever last year by playing video games. SuperData, a Nielsen company, reports 55 percent of people turned to console, PC and mobile games during the first phase of COVID-19 lockdowns. Video games and interactive media generated $139 billion in 2020, a 12 percent spike, with digital games alone raking in $126 billion. 'Consumers had to turn to games as other forms of entertainment such as professional sports and movie theaters were on pause,' the report indicates. Free-to-play games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone generated 78 percent of the total games revenue.

Activision is not just dipping its toes into the popular battle royale video game category. The "Call of Duty" publisher is jumping in, fully committed to take on favorites "Fortnite" and "Apex Legends." The new game, "Call of Duty: Warzone," which launches Tuesday on Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One and PCs, "is the most ambitious environment we have ever built in the franchise's history," said Patrick Kelly, who co-heads Infinity Ward, the studio that developed the game with support from Raven Software. Monday, Activision announced the game, which lets console and PC users play together, in a post on its official "Call of Duty" blog. Free to play online, and available to download starting at 11 a.m.

How Fortnite is making it's money. More than a year after its release, the world is still talking about Fortnite -- and for good reason. The battle royale video game played by more than 200 million people is free, but it's generating a ton of money Time Could "Fortnite" be losing its mojo? The hugely popular online game saw its revenue fall 48 percent in January from the previous month, according to estimates from research firm SuperData. And that happened before a new challenger, "Apex Legends," appeared on the scene, potentially stealing some thunder.

Go behind-the-scenes at the Call of Duty World Championships in Anaheim, California. Fans prepare for the start of the inaugural season of Overwatch League. They rush to events in search of players' autographs. But these "athletes" they're flocking to see, who spend hours in scrimmages honing their skills, are not football or basketball players -- they're gamers. Competitive video game playing, more commonly known as esports, drew 258 million unique viewers globally last year, according to research firm SuperData.

Nearly three years ago, Brendan Greene was living on welfare in his home country of Ireland. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is a title few non-video game diehards have ever heard of. That's partly because Greene and game developer Bluehole Studio have not marketed the game. Instead, a combination of viral buzz through streaming services like Twitch and a novel spin on the shooter genre propelled PUBG (pronounced "pub-gee") to popularity on par with Call of Duty, with massive production and advertising budgets. This week, having thrived on PC, PUBG will enjoy a new wave of players by making its debut on Microsoft's Xbox One.