Nintendo profits almost doubled last year as the group emerged as a winner of the pandemic.

As more people are staying at home and playing games, the Video game giant saw profits surge from 196bn yen in 2019 to 376.6bn yen ($3.6bn) in 2020.

Nine month sales increased by 37% to $13bn whilst sales of the Switch games console rose over 10% to 26.5m.

“In the video gaming business, Nintendo is the clear corona winner,” said Serkan Toto, who is the founder of game industry consultancy Kantan Games. “Its titles are not only blockbusters but also Switch-exclusive system sellers.”

The Nintendo full-year forecast rose 24% to 560bn yen and shares in the group closed over 3% higher.