August’s most downloaded games across PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam
Plus, a look at how August’s many new launches are performing, including Gears on PlayStation and Helldivers 2 on Xbox.
PEAK is still on top, as Delta Force’s console launch brings the shooter back into the fold
This climbing game just refuses to come down. Thanks to a discount last month, PEAK was once again the most downloaded game across all platforms in August, with another 4.0 million downloads. It’s sold over 11 million copies on Steam. Wild.
Tencent’s Delta Force delta-forced its way into second place with 3.7 million downloads, an impressive debut for a tactical shooter competing in one of the most crowded genres around.
Delta Force has Battlefield-like modes, which the media really tends to focus on with this one, but the meat of Delta Force is its extraction-shooter mode. The game launched on PlayStation and Xbox on August 19 – nine months after its PC launch. PlayStation accounted for the lion’s share of the downloads – 45.3% or 1.7 million.
Interestingly, the Steam version, which has been available since December last year, got more downloads than the Xbox version in August, with 1.1 million (29.2% of Delta Force’s downloads in August) versus Xbox’s 939 K (25.5%).
Several events and updates throughout August brought Steam players back – as did that unmissable console-n00b harvest.
Want to see our cross-plaform data for any game? Reach out to us here for a free demo and trial of the Alinea platform.
Whether or not Delta Force can continue to retain players in today’s crowded shooter market remains to be seen, especially with Battlefield 6, Arc Raiders, and the Steam version of Escape from Tarkov right around the corner.
Still, less than 5% of Delta Force players on Steam have wishlisted Battlefield 6 or Arc, a positive sign for Tencent’s free-to-play shooter. And developer TiMi is a live-ops force to be reckoned with.
But in today’s oversaturated attention economy, the jury’s still out. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one. So, hit subscribe below to get the latest updates in your inbox when they’re ready.
Grounded 2 finds solid ground
Obsidian’s sophomore shrunken survival escapade, Grounded 2, has started strong. Too much sibilance (sorry). Anyway, Grounded 2 received 2.2 million downloads in August, following its early-access launch on PC and Xbox.
Looking at the Steam-to-Xbox shares, 80% of Grounded 2’s players came in via Xbox (thanks to its Game Pass inclusion).
Still, Grounded 2 is performing well on Valve’s platform too, with around 800 K copies sold and revenues of almost $20 million. The inevitable PlayStation launch will add even more copies sold to this bucket. Xbox’s third-party strategy continues to pay dividends.
Grounded’s sequel shows signs of having stronger legs than the original. If Obsidian can steadily deliver content, Grounded 2 could become one of the bigger survival titles of the generation. I’ve played it, and it’s certainly got that secret sauce.
Sports season keeps rolling
Madden 26 (2.1 million downloads) and NBA 2K26 (2.0 million) continue to score blockbuster numbers, reminding us that annualised sports franchises remain unmatched in consistency, thanks to casual audiences and habitual buyers.
While Madden performed slightly better than NBA in August, it launched earlier in the month on August 14. But NBA launched in advanced access on August 29, with the full release happening on September 4.
In just three days, NBA has almost matched Madden’s performance. It has now surpassed Madden’s copies sold, before NBA’s official release, no less.
Madden 26 has also had a slower start than last year’s edition. Madden 25 had about 30% more players on PlayStation at this point in its lifecycle, which you can see below in our launch-aligned player chart:
In Madden’s case, Xbox drove a disproportionate share of downloads. Xbox accounted for 51.1% of downloads versus PlayStation’s 47.2%, despite PlayStation’s higher installed base and players’ higher readiness to buy games.
EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get a 10-hour trial of the game on Xbox. Meanwhile, sports games continue to struggle to penetrate on PC, with Steam accounting for just 1.8% of Madden’s downloads.
So yeah, console’s dead, guys. /s
Budget games, discount, and PS Plus games unsurprisingly chart
August’s two biggest monthly PS Plus games took #6 and #7:
DayZ (#6), a survival frontrunner, returned to the fold with 1.9 million downloads, with 93% – or 1.8 million – via PlayStation
Lies of P (#7), the best non-FromSoftware souls-like (source: me) shifted 1.8 million, with 98% via PlayStation
Meanwhile, Mage Arena (#8) is still riding its spell-slinging momentum, with 1.6 million downloads via Steam alone. It’s now sold 2.4 million copies overall, thanks to its streamer-friendly virality and $3 price point.
Not bad for a solo-developer project that’s still only in early access.
Speaking of $3 price points, 2021’s Battlefield 2042 (#9) blew up again last month, with 1.5 million downloads. Steam accounted for over 60%, with 898 K. Around 27.1% of the downloads came from PlayStation, with the remaining 12.7% from Xbox.
While a smidge of this spike comes from anticipation around Battlefield 6, the real driver was a massive discount. Battlefield 2042 had a huge 95% price cut to just $2.99 on Steam. It had similar discounts (but just to $7 on console).
EA has a habit of running fire sales like this ahead of earnings reports, and the tactic works.
August’s big console-exclusive swap
Rounding out the top 10 downloads list is Gears of War: Reloaded, with 1.3 million downloads in August, largely thanks to its Game Pass launch. The remake of the remake (lol) of the iconic 2005 Xbox 360 classic has performed decently on console.
A million Gears Reloaded downloads came via Xbox (accounting for 78.9%). PlayStation accounted for 18.1% with its 241 K downloads. Gears Reloaded has now sold 259 K copies on PlayStation.
The Gears player base on PlayStation was partly due to novelty and Gears-curiosity among longstanding PlayStation gamers, and partly due to nostalgia via the many gamers who transitioned from Xbox 360 to PlayStation 4 (owing to Xbox’s infamous dropping of the ball during the Xbox One generation).
Honestly, Gears 1 multiplayer is not so fun for newcomers, with the shotgun-roll, shotgun, roll loop in the multiplayer making the FTUE pretty miserable for most newcomers.
This – as well as the dated gameplay mechanics – might have hurt the Gears brand for newcomers. They probably should have started on PlayStation with next year’s Gears of War: E-Day.
Gears is far from Xbox’s best-performing PS5 port. As you can see in the chart below, Forza Horizon 5 had sold almost six times Gears’ 259 K on PS5 at this point in its lifecycle (over 1.5 million less than a week after launch):
Also, PlayStation published Helldivers 2 on Xbox on the same day as the Gears Reloaded launch. As of yesterday (six days after launch), Helldivers 2 landed 926 K copies on Xbox.
The pent-up demand for this incredible game speaks for itself. In fact, the PlayStation version had sold 633 K copies six days after launching last year.
That’s August's download list done and dusted, so let’s take a look at August’s new biggest launches on PlayStation (and beyond).
Mafia outperformed expectations on PlayStation last month
As you can see, August’s two big sports launches took the top two spots for the new PlayStation launches – neck-and-neck at a million each. However, we’ve already covered those to death above.
The big surprise of the month was Mafia: The Old Country, which launched on August 8th and sold 637K copies on PlayStation alone in August.
To date, it’s sold 1.2 million copies:
643 K on PlayStation
337 K on Steam
117 K on Xbox
This strong debut for the storied but criminally underrated mob franchise shows the appetite for story-driven, mid-budget crime sagas is far from dead.
Sure, Mafia: The Old Country launched earlier in the month, but 1.2 million copies for this lean, linear, but high-production title show that smaller titles can indeed hit. Who needs 50-hour slogs?
Critics praised Mafia’s meticulous period detail and narrative authenticity, positioning it as one of 2K’s strongest single-player launches in recent years. However, the Sicilian open world has been cricitised for its emptiness.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater debuted on August 26 and sold 281 K during the month on PS5. It’s now sold 500 K cross-platform units across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation.
The remake’s faithful recreation of MGS 3, Hideo Kojima’s 2004 classic, generated decent launch buzz. Yet, the sales curve suggests it may struggle to sustain momentum at its $70 price point.
To put this into context:
Gears of War Reloaded is $40, while Mafia: The Old Country is $50. Bad timing
Two of this year’s best-selling and critically acclaimed games, Expedition 33 and Split Fiction, were also $50
Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol 1 launched just two years ago and includes the first five main entries in the franchise (including Snake Eater) and extras for $60.
All this is to say that Metal Gear Solid Delta should have been $60 max. A price drop should secure more sales – especially on Steam. That price drop is imminent, I reckon.
Still, critics have praised the fidelity of the remaster and the nostalgic value, but some have critiqued the dated mechanics and the absence of substantial new content.
It’s worth noting that these critics didn’t have to pay $70 for the title. I did, and I bloody love it. But I’m a bit biased, as MGS3 is one of my all-timers.
Other insights, links, and cool stuff
Our Battlefield 6 commentary made the rounds in the press over the past week or so, with coverage from GamesRadar, Insider Gaming, TheGamer, and – originally – Eurogamer.
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You might have noticed that this newsletter was in your inbox a little later than usual. It’s because I (Rhys) am currently in Vancouver! I also stumbled upon a rad arcade, and was a little too happy about it. I’m in Canada; don’t think about it too much.
The last word
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Mafia on fire