SuperData Shows Borderlands 3 Success and WoW Holding On

SuperData Research has their digital revenue numbers out for September.

SuperData Research Top 10 – September 2019

On the PC end of the chart September saw another disruption of what was the solid top five titles for a stretch.  The fourteen year old Dungeon Fighter Online held on to the top position.  SuperData even had a tidbit about it on Twitter this month.

Some DFO info

Last month World of Warcraft, buoyed by the WoW Classic launch, jumped up into third place behind League of Legends.  This month the newly launched Borderlands 3 drove straight up into the second spot ahead of the now decade old LoL.

World of Warcraft fell down to sixth position, putting it ahead of World of Tanks and Dota 2.

Fortnite, which had been one of the top five regulars fell to ninth position.  Still, making the top ten means you’re still something.  Competitor PUBG isn’t on the list.  And in tenth place Roblox held on from last month.  Hearthstone, which had the ninth slot last month on a new expansion launch fell off the list for September.

In the console column new releases NBA 2K20, FIFA 20, and Borderlands 3 secured the top three slots.  Perennial member of the list, GTA V, grabbed the fourth spot.  Fortnite, which was in the top spot in August fell down to seventh for September.

And on the mobile end of the chart Fate/Grand Order, which has lingered on and off the list for a while jumped from third into first place.  That pushed Pokemon Go down into second place while perennial chart member Candy Crush Saga stayed in fifth position.

So it is time to compare those charts with NPD’s September sales ranking.  As always, NPD is US only, combines PC and console sales, and doesn’t always include digital sales.

1. NBA 2K20
2. Borderlands 3
3. FIFA 20
4. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening*
5. Madden NFL 20
6. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
7. Gears 5^
8. Code Vein
9. NHL 20
10. Mario Kart 8*

* Digital sales not included
^ PC digital sales not included

Certainly the top three were expected, though it is interesting to see that with combined sales that Borderlands 3 landed in between NBA 2K20 and FIFA 20.  Nintendo fell off a bit.  Last month five of the ten titles on the list were for the Switch, indicating how much that platform still depends on physical sales.  This month only two Switch titles made the chart.

Gears 5 and Code Vein did not make the SuperData chart.  I knew about Gears 5, another entry in the Gears of War franchise, but I had to look up Code Vein.

NPD’s social impressions list had World of Warcraft at the top of the list, basking in that WoW Classic glow, followed by League of Legends, CS:GO, Fortnite, and GTA V.  Dota 2 dropped off the list from last month while CS:GO jumped in.

Other items from the SuperData report:

• Worldwide digital spending declines 1% to $8.9 billion in September. Total spend on console and PC declined 17% and 3% year-over-year respectively, despite a slew of new launches. This more than offset a 6% increase on mobile, which increased its share of the total market to 59% this month.
• NBA2K and FIFA’s latest releases were slow out of the gate. In-game spending for the NBA2K franchise grew only 6% in September, while the FIFA franchise declined slightly year-over-year due to an unfavorable comparison against World Cup after-effects last year. This compares to last September, where the two franchises saw combined in-game spending growth of 24%.
• Fortnite hits lowest point since launch just before “Fortnite Chapter 2“. We estimate Fortnite revenue across all platforms declined 43% month-over-month in September, marking the worst performing month of revenue since November 2017.
• Fate/Grand Order receives a huge boost from China. Fate/Grand Order catapulted into the top spot on our mobile rankings this month with $246 million in revenue, up significantly from $131 million in August and $98 million last September, with the majority of the revenue increase coming from China.
• Borderlands 3 marks another solid release for 2K Games. Borderlands 3 sold an estimated 3.3 million digital units across console and PC in September. The average selling price per unit came in at an above-average $69 due to Deluxe Edition sales.