Digital game sales continue to rise, as revealed in Superdata’s latest report, which recaps worldwide digital game sales for the month of January. Digital sales totals have reached $6.3 billion for the month, an increase of 8 percent over the previous year.
Part of that success comes from the PC release of Square Enix’s hit sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider, following its exclusive debut on Xbox One back in November. “As one of Square Enix’s most visible franchises, the Tomb Raider franchise performed in January, receiving both strong industry recognition and benefitting from a seasonal lull of AAA games,” said Superdata CEO Joost Van Dreunen. “The game sold almost three times as many units on PC than it did on console during its first month.”
The top digital seller of the month was once again Activision Blizzard’s popular first-person shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops III. However, other mainstays like FIFA 16 and Grand Theft Auto V continued to populate the list, and Fallout 4 continued to be a huge draw.
Van Dreunen also noted, “Add-on content drives 88 percent of FIFA 16‘s digital console revenues in January. Electronic Arts’ game remains near the top of the console charts thanks to strong sales of FIFA Ultimate Team card packs. (It) earns a greater share of digital revenue from additional content than any other console game in the top five.”
World of WarCraft led the list in pay-to-play, while League of Legends continued to dominate in the free-to-play market. Activision Blizzard also scored a victory in the PC DLC category, with StarCraft II holding a steady first-place spot.
However, Van Dreunen was quick to note other favorites like H1Z1 and Elite: Dangerous, and their recent expansions. “(They) have repurposed their games’ core mechanics and launched H1Z1: King of the Kill and Elite Dangerous: Arena. Despite steady player bases for each, both games aim to expand their reach by attracting competitive players and eSports audiences who have less of an interest in persistent worlds and in-game economies.”
H1Z1 is paying off better than expected, thanks to 11,000 concurrent viewers on average on Twitch, and a total of 7.9 million hours played for the month.
Finally, the mobile market continued to see domination from Supercell’s Clash of Clans, although Monster Strike and Puzzle & Dragons continued to be hits, alongside King’s Candy Crush Saga titles. “The market for mobile VR gaming is on track to hit $861 million,” noted Van Dreunen about the future of mobile.
With the introduction of Supercell’s recently released Clash Royale, its dominance will likely continue. “(It) comes at a critical time,” he said. “Over the past year, marketing costs on mobile have continued to increase, and Supercell now faces a growing number of both Western and Eastern publishers with deep pockets. Given the company’s financial momentum, with Clash of Clans earning an estimated $1.3 billion in 2015, Clash Royale will likely have enough runway to prove itself.”