Digital video game sales generated $9.09 billion in revenue in April, up 23 percent year-over-year from $7.42 billion, according to analyst firm SuperData Research. The bump in revenue came from console and mobile spending. Console games revenue was up 44 percent thanks to Epic’s hit battle royale title Fortnite as well as Santa Monica Studios’ God of War, which was the top-selling game in April and set a new record as the fastest-selling PlayStation 4 exclusive ever. It sold around 2.1 million copies, twice as many as Naughty Dog’s 2016 PS4 exclusive Uncharted 4.
God of War wasn’t the only title setting records. Fortnite’s outsized popularity continued in April, generating the most monthly revenue from in-game purchases from a console game. Epic’s last-player-standing shooter is available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and iOS mobile devices, and in April, it raked in $296 million across these platforms, up nearly 33 percent from $223 million in March.
Tencent’s mobile juggernaut Honor of Kings (which goes by the name Arena of Valor in the West) maintained its spot on top as the highest grossing mobile title, generating increasing revenue month-over-month. In April, players spent $185 million, which is up from March’s $171 million.
April also saw the star of a perennial top-seller dim slightly. Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto V launched in 2013, and it’s become a familiar sight on top-10 charts. The free-wheeling open-world adventure game is enormously popular, but SuperData found that its April revenue dropped 9 percent year-over-year. This ends GTA V’s streak of 12 months of growth. However, it’s still likely on track to reach 100 million copies sold by the end of 2018.
