The best-selling games in January are known. Alongside favorites like LoL, Overwatch, and WoW, ARK Survival Evolved and even Destiny make an appearance.
The analytics firm Superdata regularly releases figures, which games generated the most revenue digitally. This is primarily fueled by “microtransactions” that put money into the coffers. These small or not-so-small “in-app” purchases allow players to gain advantages or cosmetic items in the in-game shop of games. Therefore, practically all games on PC and consoles are so-called “Games as a Service” products with a long lifespan.
In January 2017, the table for the individual sectors looks like this.
The usual suspects dominate: LoL, FIFA, Clash Royale
Anyone who has dealt with these numbers before sees the “usual suspects” everywhere. On PC, the MOBA LoL is at the top, followed by the two Asian games Crossfire and Dungeon Fighter Online.
Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and World of Tanks follow in the ranks. There isn’t much change throughout the year; especially among the top games, it seems quite cemented.
GTA ages well – Destiny still brings in money
On consoles, FIFA 17 remains strong with its microtransactions. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare may have faced a lot of criticism, but revenues still come in and it’s not insignificant. Compared to its predecessor “Black Ops 3,” the title still looks bad. Black Ops 3 earned significantly more in the previous year than Infinite Warfare does now.
Grand Theft Auto V is a regular guest in the top ranks. The oldie was released in 2013 but earned more in January 2017 than it did the previous year. GTA V is aging well.
There hasn’t been much change in the upper ranks of consoles for years. Only the year for FIFA and the title for Call of Duty change from year to year.
However, a game like Destiny, where hardly anything has happened since September 2015, still generated significant revenue in January on PS4 and Xbox One. Competitor The Division was ahead of Destiny in 2016 but fails to make it into the top 10 in January 2017.
ARK Survival Evolved breaks into the non-AAA game ranks
Surprisingly strong for a “non-AAA game” from a major publisher are the dinos of ARK: Survival Evolved. Here, they bite off a significant portion of the pie among the big players. The game earned more money digitally in January on consoles than, for example, Battlefield 1.
In mobile games, “Clash Royale” remains a phenomenon. Pokémon GO ranks 4th here, even though little was happening in the game in January. Since the release of Season 2 in mid-February, that has changed again.
