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Documents about Star Wars
Plus: Backpack Battles Rides Its Demo to Steam Success
This analysis examines the performance of recent video game releases and provides a forecast for upcoming titles across major platforms, including Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
- Helldivers 2 continues to dominate the market with estimated sales of 6 million units on Steam and 2.5 million units on PlayStation 5.
- Backpack Battles achieved over 11,000 concurrent users on Steam by utilizing a long-term free demo strategy to validate its inventory-management mechanics.
- Expeditions: A MudRunner Game debuted with 5,000 concurrent users, though it received mixed reviews due to its linear gameplay structure.
Market Analysis: Late March 2024
This analysis examines current market trends and upcoming high-profile releases across the PC and console gaming landscape for late March 2024.
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a major market driver, securing the third highest-grossing spot on Steam via pre-orders with over 300,000 units sold before launch.
- The Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection launch was marred by technical issues, resulting in a 19% positive review rating despite an initial 10,000 concurrent user count.
- Helldivers 2 maintains its position as the leading PlayStation sales title in the U.S., while Unicorn Overlord leads third-party paid downloads on the Nintendo Switch eShop.
Disney to Invest $1.5B in Epic Games
The Walt Disney Company has announced a strategic $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games to acquire an equity stake in the developer.
- The Walt Disney Company is investing $1.5 billion in Epic Games to acquire an equity stake in the developer.
- The partnership involves a multiyear project to build a persistent, open, and interoperable gaming and entertainment universe integrated with Fortnite.
- The new ecosystem will utilize Epic’s Unreal Engine to allow users to play, watch, shop, and engage with content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar.
EA Promises a Lighter Release Slate in 2024
Electronic Arts is shifting toward a more conservative release schedule for the 2024 fiscal year, prioritizing stability over a high volume of new titles.
- Electronic Arts will maintain a lighter release slate in 2024, with no new sequels for the Battlefield or Sims franchises scheduled before April 1, 2025.
- Microsoft reported $7.1 billion in gaming revenue for the quarter, with 55% of its 61% growth in Xbox content and services attributed to the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
- Palworld has achieved the largest third-party launch in Game Pass history, reaching over seven million players on Xbox platforms.
Can You Unlock More and Spend Less by Going Around the App Stores?
The rise of external web stores represents a strategic shift for mobile game publishers seeking to circumvent the 30% transaction fees imposed by major app storefronts.
- Mobile game publishers are increasingly using external web stores to bypass the 30% transaction fees charged by Apple and Google, with major titles like Clash of Clans, Game of Thrones: Conquest, and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes adopting the practice.
- To overcome the friction of external purchasing—such as account creation and re-entering payment details—publishers must offer tangible incentives, such as the 10% discount on in-game currency offered by Game of Thrones: Conquest.
- While Apple and Google prohibit in-app advertising of external payment methods, publishers can circumvent this by promoting external deals through off-platform channels like social media and traditional online advertising.
After the Unboxing
The accidental public release of internal Microsoft documents during the FTC v. Microsoft legal proceedings in September 2023 serves as the primary focus of this analysis.
- The accidental leak of internal Microsoft documents during the FTC case revealed sensitive long-term strategy, including hardware plans through 2030, unannounced games, and internal assessments of competitors.
- Leaked internal communications disclosed specific Game Pass acquisition costs, such as $5 million for indie titles, $50 million for Dying Light 2, and a $300 million valuation for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
- Microsoft’s internal documents revealed a lack of industry awareness, including an underestimation of Baldur’s Gate 3's potential and a $250 million valuation for Suicide Squad that the author characterizes as unrealistic.
Analysis: Which 'Not-E3' Games Hit It Big With Gamers?
This analysis evaluates the impact of various "not-E3" 2023 gaming showcases on consumer interest and provides a critical assessment of sales distribution across PC and console platforms.
- Independent and mid-market games should prioritize PC as their primary revenue driver, as Steam frequently outperforms all console platforms combined for titles like Dredge.
- The Xbox Games Showcase and Summer Game Fest were the most influential events of June 2023, generating the highest median follower increases and media volume.
- Steam breakout titles included Starfield, PayDay 3, and Cities Skylines 2, while Star Wars: Outlaws and Fable generated the most non-Steam press coverage.
Disney Magic Kingdoms: The Most Magical Place on Mobile?
Disney Magic Kingdoms demonstrates the enduring commercial viability of intellectual property-driven mobile gaming.
- Gameloft’s Disney Magic Kingdoms, released in 2016, has surpassed 100 million downloads and generated approximately $200 million in total revenue.
- The integration of Star Wars and The Mandalorian content in May 2023 drove a significant spike in monthly downloads to over 3 million, compared to the typical monthly average of 500,000 to 700,000.
- The game utilizes a hybrid-casual model that blends accessible, casual mechanics with mid-core progression systems to appeal to a broad demographic.
Have You Lost Track of Steam Key Resellers?
Effective management of Steam keys is essential for developers to protect their revenue and prevent gray market exploitation.
- Developers should combat gray market key exploitation by implementing regional locks for territories like China, Turkey, and Latin America to prevent price arbitrage.
- TikTok is a primary driver for game discovery, with high-performing videos capable of increasing daily Steam wishlists by 10% to 40%.
- Digital distribution is becoming the industry standard, with major titles like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor now generating over 55% of their total sales through digital channels.
Showtime: A Look Ahead to not-E3 2023
This analysis examines the industry landscape leading into the 2023 summer showcase season, commonly referred to as not-E3.
- Embracer Group's stock price plummeted by over 45% following the collapse of a $2 billion strategic partnership that had been in development for seven months.
- Ubisoft plans to increase the headcount of its Assassin’s Creed division by 40% over the next few years, building on an existing team of 2,000 employees.
- PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst has confirmed that Sony currently has a dozen live-service games in development.
Plus: Outlast Trials, Starship Troopers FPS Go Out Big on Steam!
The analysis of recent video game market performance reveals a strong preference for cooperative multiplayer experiences and established horror franchises.
- Cooperative multiplayer and established horror franchises are currently outperforming, with The Outlast Trials reaching 25,000 peak concurrent users (CCU) and Starship Troopers: Extermination hitting 13,000 CCU.
- High-priced titles featuring aggressive monetization models face immediate market resistance, evidenced by LEGO 2K Drive’s modest 1,000 CCU debut due to its $60 price point combined with microtransactions.
- The console market remains dominated by a small group of blockbuster titles, specifically Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, MLB The Show 23, and Hogwarts Legacy, which continue to capture the majority of top-grossing positions.
Jedi: Survivor and Dead Island 2 Top April Sales Charts: Circana April 2023
The April 2023 U.S. video game market analysis, provided by Circana, highlights the performance of new software releases against a backdrop of overall industry contraction.
- The US video game market experienced a 5% decline in total dollar sales in April 2023 compared to April 2022, reaching $4.123 billion.
- Video game content spending (physical, digital, DLC/MTX, subscriptions across all platforms) decreased by 6% year-over-year in April 2023 to $3.598 billion, with only non-mobile subscription content seeing a 2% increase.
- Video game hardware sales rose by 7% in April 2023 to $367 million, marking the highest April hardware spend since April 2020, driven by double-digit growth in PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch sales.
Companies behind it
As the documents state it.