Y’all really wanted Destiny 2. The game has already shot past Ghost Recon, Zelda, and Horizon Zero Dawn to take over the No. 1 spot on the best-selling games of 2017 to date in the United States, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group.
On September 6, Bungie and Activision launched the online sci-fi shooter sequel Destiny 2. By September 30, the game wasn’t just the best-selling release of the month, it was the best-selling game since January 1.
“Destiny 2 was the top-selling game in September, driving more launch month consumer spend than any other 2017 release to date,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “With one month of sales, Destiny 2 also becomes the best-selling game of 2017 year-to-date.”
Even more impressive, Destiny 2 is the third best-selling game of the last 12 months. Only last fall’s massive shooters Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare have sold better.
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
“Destiny 2 combined consumer spend across packaged and digital also exceeded the launch month sales of the previous title in the franchise, Destiny, which released in September 2014,” said Piscatella.
This is further evidence of the vast appeal of online-first games. While publishers like Electronic Arts talk about shifting to games-as-a-service because of the potential for microtransaction sales, it’s important to note that those games tend to sell better than single-player linear experiences at retail before you even factor in digital add-on sales.
Destiny 2 will get another chance to bring in a major audience when it launches for PC on Blizzard’s Battle.net service this week. Those sales will not, however, show up in the NPD’s sales data.
