EA and Xbox dominate our July PlayStation chart, and why GTA 6 won’t cost $100
A shooter new to PS5, Forza (again), and sports games also rank. Plus, an update on Death Stranding 2's sales, and the $100 GTA discourse returns…
July was another huuuuge month on PlayStation – especially for sports games, ports, and familiar classics.
Let’s dive in, before finishing off with a rant about the $100 GTA discourse.
College Football 26 scores a great debut with 1.3M copies sold
EA’s College Football 26, which launched on July 11, is off to a blistering start. In July, it generated revenues of $73.4 million via 1.3 million copies sold, scoring it the top spot.
Our data shows that just 5% of College Football 26’s copies sold on PS5 were physical. While things are mostly digital now, this share is far lower than average, owing to College Football’s deluxe version (which includes early access) being digital only.
As of today, College Football 26 has sold 1.4 million copies on PS5. Make no mistake: this is a great performance, but it’s selling about three times slower than College Football 25, which had crossed 4 million sold on PS5 by this point.
This decline makes sense, as last year’s edition was the first college football game since the Xbox 360 and PS3 generation over a decade ago. The novelty factor and pent-up demand were there in full force last year.
On a more positive note, College Football 26 is selling better than the core Madden series. Madden 25 has sold 1.2 million on PlayStation at this point (versus College Football 26’s 1.4 million), despite Madden being available on PS4 and PS5. College Football is latest gen only.
The world’s largest console and PC game market, the US, accounts for 97% of College Football 26’s audience, showcasing the power of the US market. Canada accounts for 1.2%, followed by the UK with 0.5%.
Despite catering largely to just one market, College Football has generated more revenues than July’s #2, #3, and #4 games combined (more on those in a bit).
We’ll be tracking College Football 26’s sales closely as the real-world sport’s season kicks off at the end of next month. EA no doubt has some cross-pollination efforts on the scorecard. 👀
Ready or Not shoots to #2 on PS5 in its console launch month
VOID Interactive’s hardcore SWAT sim, Ready or Not (a port of a two-year-old PC game), impressed us with a million PS5 copies sold last month. It generated revenues of over $40 million on PS5.
I knew it would perform decently on PS5, but the Ready or Not port’s performance on console took me by surprise. You might say I was not ready for Ready or Not (sorry!). Moving on…
Ready or Not’s heavy emphasis on realism, high-stakes SWAT missions, and tense moment-to-moment gameplay has helped it find a foothold with console players.
As Call of Duty and other shooters jump the shark to chase Fortnite-esque visuals and trends, Ready or Not’s success shows that sometimes stripping things back can resonate with gamers. This bodes well for this year’s more grounded Battlefield 6, which has just passed 2 million wishlists on Steam and is about to have a big public beta.
Ready or Not’s launch hasn’t been all sunshine and roses. Some PC players have felt alienated, leading to them "review bombing" the Steam version to protest blanket changes made for the console release. While Ready or Not has mostly positive user reviews overall, the recent reviews are mostly negative:
That said, the Steam version is still enjoying its highest DAU numbers to date, suggesting that the negative reviews are coming from the vocal minority.
Familiar faces and Xbox-published games round off the top 5
Sports, racing, and an all-time bestseller take the bottom thee spots in the top 5:
EA FC 25 (#3) sold 908 K copies on PlayStation in July, thanks to the price drop to $15 on the PlayStation Store. Owing to a similar price drop, FC 25 was last month’s top game by copies sold. We expect to see even more aggressive pricing promotions ahead of FC 26’s launch next month – one last hurrah before EA’s cash cow moves to its next edition.
Minecraft (#4) shifted another 494 K last month. It’s one of those games that just keeps on selling, with more than 300 million sold across all platforms. Microsoft’s acquisition of Minecraft creator Mojang (for $2.5 billion) was a smart one
Forza Horizon 5 (#5) sold another 399 K on PS5 last month, driven by a price drop from $60 to $45 that ran from July 17 to the end of the month. To date, Forza has generated $164.2 million in revenues on PS5 via 3.6 million copies sold.
Forza’s off-platform success shows why Xbox is shifting to third party amid saturating Game Pass numbers and slower game sales on the platform. As for Forza Horizon 5’s $164.2 million on PS5, Microsoft gets $114.9 million and Sony gets $49.3 million Everybody wins, including gamers.
We can’t wait to analyse the sales data for Gears Reloaded on PS5 and Helldivers 2 on Xbox later this month. Hit the button below to subscribe and get that analysis in your inbox as soon as it’s ready!
Death Stranding 2 has now sold over a million copies
Death Stranding 2 added another 372 K PS5 copies sold in July, bringing its total to 1.1 million. Almost two-thirds (65%) of these are digital.
Yes, we have data on physical and digital splits for PlayStation games. Book a demo with us to learn more. We’ll even chuck in a free trial of the platform.
Death Stranding 2 has generated revenues of over $60 million now. This is a respectable figure for Kojima Productions’ auteur-led sequel, though still trailing behind other first-party hits.
That said, those who are playing DS2 are getting sucked in:
Anecdotally, some early coverage suggested DS2 might follow the "Alan Wake 2 path", with strong critical reception but niche market appeal.
Our data suggests otherwise: DS2 is selling over 3x faster than Alan Wake 2 on PS5, and crucially, it’s stabilising slower. There’s significant crossover between these two auteur-led games, though, as 18% of Alan Wake 2 players on PS5 have played DS2.
It seems that there’s a segment of gamers who can’t get enough of weird and wonderful brooding games. 🙋
DS2 isn’t a short-term blockbuster. With growing player engagement, cultural cachet, and one of the most meticulously designed open worlds in recent memory, it’s built for the long haul. Expect steady growth through Q4 2025, particularly if it picks up nominations during awards season.
GTA, sports, and a new souls-like round off the top 10
As for the rest of the ranking:
GTA V (#7) scored 358 K copies sold, proving yet again that it’s the game equivalent of gravity. No matter what else is happening, GTA V keeps pulling players in. We cover some GTA 6 discourse later in the newsletter 👀
Rematch (#8) added another 308 K sold on PlayStation in July, after its breakout success in June. Our crossover data shows that Rematch continues to resonate with the Rocket League and FC crowd while carving out its own niche. Twitch-driven visibility hasn’t hurt. Rematch is nearing a million sold on PS5 to complement its 1.6 million sold on Steam.
WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers (#9) sold 291 K copies on PS5 in July, in just seven days. To date, WUCHANG has sold 326 K on PS5 and 660 K on Steam. PC optimisation issues aside, this is a very decent result for a new IP from a small studio and a testament to the strength of the souls-like genre. And no, players don’t have souls-like fatigue, as WUCHANG is selling faster than Lies of P, and Elden Ring Nightreign has sold over 5 million this year.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (#10) shifted another 172 K copies last month, helped by a 10% discount. This turn-based title has legs longer than a Grosse Tete, after launching in April. Expedition 33 has now sold 2.4 million copies on Steam and 1.5 million on PS5. As we mentioned in previous newsletters, it’s selling faster than JRPGs from iconic studios. Fair play!
Why charging $100 for base GTA 6 makes zero sense
The discourse around a $100 base price for GTA 6 is back on LinkedIn and the media. Please stop it.🤦
It'd be a BAD idea for three big reasons:
The real cash cow is GTA Online and its recurring revenues, so limiting GTA 6’s total addressable audience at launch to make a quick buck wouldn't be smart. Let's also not forget there's a cost-of-living crisis happening globally.
Rockstar needs to move players from GTA 5 and a higher floor for the switching cost would limit the GTA5-to-GTA6 player acquisition. Players not budging from GTA 5 is probably one of GTA 6's biggest threats, one GTA hasn't really faced before. After all, live services are mostly zero sum in today's oversaturated attention economy. GTA 6 isn't just competing against competitors' games, it's competing with TikTok, Netflix, and even its predecessor.
Rockstar can easily charge $100 (hell, $120) for a higher-tier edition of GTA 6 with a week of early access, maybe with a shark card thrown in. Players with the disposable income to pay that WILL pay it. It’s best of both worlds, and it’s the norm for AAA games these days.
While ''higher price = more revenues'' makes sense on first glance, it just doesn't make sense from a business perspective when we zoom out a little.
And yes, GTA is an all-time top-grossing media property. GTA 5 alone has sold 215 MILLION copies and counting. Earlier in the newsletter, we discussed how GTA 5 sold 358 K copies on PlayStation last month alone. Enough said.
Actually, not enough said. For every person in the UK, there are three copies of GTA 5 out there. Insanity. The franchise also has unparalleled brand recognition and a dedicated, content-hungry fan base. It's been 12 years since GTA 5, after all.
If any game is price-inelastic enough to charge $100 or above, it's GTA 6. So while Rockstar COULD charge $100 for the base version of GTA 6 and the market could bear that price, it really shouldn't charge more than it needs to.
Rockstar is a smart company with a lot of decision-making power for a developer under a publisher.
I think they'll make the right call and give the base edition an $80 price tag.
// rant
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First article of yours (and Alinea Insights) that I've read and I found the numbers deeply fascinating! You've definitely earned a sub out of me :D
I think you hit the nail on the head with GTA pricing, particularly with your 3rd point - They know they can get away with pricing it high, so they will absolutely do that for their more financially secure audience with some sort of special edition... but keep it priced somewhat normally to make it accessible for everyone and their dog to jump in so they can get every chance to hook them into the GTA Online MTX hellscape.