A strong year has seen Sony climb above Microsoft in the gaming industry revenue rankings.

That's according to market intelligence agency Newzoo, which has released a report indicating near universal growth in the industry.

The world's largest gaming company continues to be Tencent, the Chinese investment holding company that owns Riot Games (League of Legends) and Epic (Unreal engine). Tencent reported 37 percent annual growth with US$7.2 billion in sales.

Jumping into second place is Sony. The company recorded 27 percent year-on-year growth from US$4.7 billion to US$6 billion. In third place, Microsoft managed a comparatively static 3 percent year-on-year growth up to a total of US$5 billion in revenue.

After a strong year, EA surpassed Activision-Blizzard to assume fourth place. EA reported 22 percent year-on-year growth, while Acitivision-Blizzard dipped down, reporting negative growth of 4 percent.

Ubisoft made its first appearance in the top 10, reporting 33 percent year-on-year growth.

At 89 percent year-on-year, Google reported the most growth. Revenues there increased from US$1.4 billion to US$2.6 billion.