Media: Gears of War: E-Day sold over 400,000 copies in three weeks
The shooter Gears of War: E-Day, released by Microsoft on October 6, sold over 400,000 copies on PC and Xbox. This was reported by The Verge journalist Tom Warren, citing his own source.
Microsoft has not officially disclosed the game’s sales figures. However, the sales reported by The Verge do not account for the Xbox Game Pass audience, for whom Gears of War: E-Day was available on the release day.
Previously, the analytics company Alinea Analytics estimated the game’s sales results for the first week. According to their calculations as of October 9:
- 230,000 copies were sold on PC and Xbox, including 168,000 on Steam and 62,000 in the Xbox ecosystem;
- 1.7 million people accessed the game through Game Pass instead of purchasing the full version;
- 722,000 subscribers purchased the Premium Edition Upgrade for $30, allowing them to start playing five days before the official release;
- The total revenue from game sales and paid upgrades was $37 million. About $26 million of this amount came from the Xbox ecosystem.
According to Alinea Analytics' estimates, nearly 950,000 users paid for the game in some form taking Premium upgrades into account. However, analysts believe that the presence of Gears of War: E-Day in Game Pass negatively impacted the sales of the full version priced at $70.
As previously reported by Kotaku, the development of Gears of War: E-Day might have cost Microsoft more than $500 million not including marketing expenses. The publication references a source familiar with the company's gaming business. This figure is not officially confirmed.
The Verge notes that the main question is how satisfied Microsoft is with the results of Gears of War: E-Day in Game Pass and whether subscription revenues can compensate for the relatively small sales figures, as well as potential sales on PlayStation 5, for which release was canceled by the company.
It is worth noting that critics received Gears of War: E-Day positively. On Metacritic, the game received a score of 87 out of 100 — the highest rating among the series since the Xbox 360 era.