Digital downloads are making up a bigger piece of the market on consoles, and intelligence firm SuperData Research is shedding some light on exactly how big it is.
Digital console games generated $263 million in January, according to SuperData. That’s up 14 percent year over year. Grand Theft Auto and several Call of Duty games were the primary drivers in this growth, but SuperData chief executive and lead analyst Joost van Dreunen notes that horror games Resident Evil 4 HD Remaster and Dying Light were also big contributors. Sony’s PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 consoles also dominated by making up 63 percent of digital sales on console. Digital games on console, PC, and mobile is now a $49 billion category, and it’s only getting bigger — and Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all trying to get as big a piece of that as possible.
For the first time, SuperData is not just sharing how much money digital console games made, but it has broken down the top 10 highest-earning releases during the month.
Check it out:
Obviously, GTA V is the big winner here. This includes both people paying to purchase the digital version of the game as well as content for GTA Online. The same is true for the three Call of Duty games on the list, which all have downloadable content and purchasable cosmetic items.
SuperData also notes that the top 10 games generated $133 million in revenue by themselves, which is just slightly more than half of all digital console spending.
“What allows us to publish this list today is that we’ve reached critical mass with our data collection,” said van Dreunen. “With the help of our client network and data providers, the data necessary to release a reliable monthly overview of key performers on digital console is now available. We’ve been providing our customers with similar information on free-to-play, mobile, and PC for years, but being able to now do the same for digital console is a historic moment.”