Developer Shift Up’s first major game has proven to be a sales success, although there is a caveat to its high chart position.
Despite some initial controversy around protagonist EVE, Stellar Blade has been another notable success story for Sony.
According to data from research firm Circana, the PlayStation 5 exclusive debuted at the top of the US software sales charts in April, beating Helldivers 2, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Sea Of Thieves in fourth. Stellar Blade is also the 16th best-selling game of 2024 so far, based on dollar sales.
However, as noted by industry analyst Mat Piscatella on Twitter, Stellar Blade had the lowest sales to lead the April chart since Prototype 2 came out on top in April 2012.
‘The game did great,’ he added. ‘But it’s okay to recognise that not every game is going to be the biggest hit ever released or the biggest failure.’
Elsewhere in the chart, Fallout 4 jumped up 82 places to number five, due to signficant discounts and the popularity of the Amazon TV show adaptation. Fallout 76, meanwhile, went up a huge 151 places to number eight.
It seems Microsoft’s multiplatform strategy is also having a positive effect, with Sea Of Thieves and Grounded both climbing up the charts, with the latter rising 155 places to number 12. Grounded was also the ninth best-selling game on PlayStation platforms in April.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 has remained the best-selling console in both unit and dollar sales in April. The Nintendo Switch ranked second in unit sales, but the Xbox Series X/S placed second in dollars, as it is more expensive.
Helldivers 2 is still the best-selling game of 2024 in the US, followed by Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Dragon’s Dogma 2, MLB: The Show 24, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Overall though, US spending on games, hardware and accessories fell 3% in April compared to the previous year, to a total of $4.1 billion. This is mostly down to a 43% sales drop in hardware, along with a 4% dip in accessory sales, while video game content (physical and digital game sales along with any DLC) was up 2%.
The success of Stellar Blade practically locks it in for a sequel, which is something the developers are already considering.
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