In June 2018, games-as-a-service dominate the global gaming market in terms of digital revenue. At the top on mobile, PC, PS4, and Xbox One are three games: League of Legends, Fortnite, and Honor of Kings – the usual suspects. But other games are gaining ground like PUBG, The Crew 2, or Pokémon GO.
What kind of ranking is this? These are the top 10 games on each platform, sorted by digital revenue worldwide according to analysis firm Superdata.
So this is not about retail sales, but rather about what the games generated through microtransactions in June 2018. Or what other money came in through digital sales via Steam, PS Store, or similar platforms.
Gaming is getting bigger: It was a good June 2018 for digital spending. Revenue on mobile and consoles is 23% higher than in June 2017. However, the PC is slightly down. Players spent about 9.1 billion US dollars, last year it was still 7.9 billion.
What has happened on PC? – PUBG rises
Stagnation on PC: On the PC, there has been little change from May to June. The same ten games are at the top in both months; only the rankings have been somewhat shuffled.
However, at the top, everything remains the same: League of Legends continues to circle alone in first place. Following is Dungeon Fighter Online, a game known only in Asia. Just like Crossfire (4th place) and Fantasy Westward Journey Online II (5th place).
There is an outlier: PlayerUnknown’s Battleground has shot to third place thanks to the Steam Sale. 4.7 million units were sold in June, marking a strong jump from 9th to 3rd place. The game cost only $20 in the Steam Sale, so many likely took the plunge.
What has happened on PS4 and Xbox One?
The Crew 2 shoots in: Although The Crew 2 cannot match the top results of Far Cry 5, it ranks 4th on consoles.
On PC, PS4, and Xbox One, about 700,000 digital units were sold. That’s more than the first The Crew. This is likely because generally more digital units are sold than before.
Call of Duty better than last year: The World War Call of Duty WW2 performs better than “Infinite Warfare”, but worse than “Black Ops III.” The general sentiment of players matches the revenue here. It’s mainly about how the additional DLCs sell year-on-year. Players probably just prefer Black Ops – it’s convenient that a new Black Ops IIII is coming out this year.
What’s happening in Mobile?
Pokémon GO is back: The summer plays in Pokémon GO’s favor. They had already gained ground in May and were in 4th place, now they rise to 3rd place. It seems running in the sun is better. POGO is celebrating a comeback overall in 2018.
Clones dominate. Otherwise, many “mobile” versions of well-known games are at the top. Honour of Kings (known here as Arena of Valor) is in first place and is essentially the mobile variant of LoL.
In 4th place is “Knives Out”, a game clearly inspired by PUBG. Even if the publisher dismisses the corresponding lawsuit as “shameless”.
