- Статьи
- Internet and technology
- Recognized ours: the top-selling games before the New Year included projects from Russia
Recognized ours: the top-selling games before the New Year included projects from Russia
In the world's largest digital game distribution service Steam, the sale began at the end of December, and Space Marine 2 was included in the top of the best projects. Experts attribute this success to two factors: a record discount of 25% and the absence of any discount in the nearest competitor - the Chinese action game Black Myth: Wukong. The overall top of the best games, according to Russian marketplaces, also included Grand Theft Auto V, EA Sports Football Club 25, Hogwarts: Legacy and Atomic Heart.
Which games became sales hits
At the end of December, the Russian game Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, created by Saber Interactive in St. Petersburg, showed significant success. It hit the sales trends of the digital platform Steam. Experts attributed the interest of buyers to discounts on the game, the appearance of new Obelisk content in December and the desire of Russians to support domestic projects. According to the publisher of the game, so far Space Marine 2 has sold out a cumulative circulation of 4.5 million copies, which makes it the most popular video game project in the universe of Warhammer 40,000 in history.
According to Wildberries, other popular games among Russians were EA Sports Football Club 25 soccer simulator for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, the adventure "Hogwarts: Legacy" in the world of "Harry Potter", the Spider-Man action movie called Marvel's Spider-Man 2 for PlayStation 5, as well as virtual martial arts UFC 5 and Mortal Kombat 1. Another important game, which entered the top 20 most successful projects, was the console version of the action thriller Atomic Heart from the Cypriot company Mundfish, formerly based in the Russian Federation - among the top 50 games various disk editions of the game occupy six positions. The game is created in the genre of action movie with a first-person view and shows a distinctive version of the Soviet Union in the format of retrofuturism.
According to the statistics of the most purchased video games in the sales channels of M.Video-Eldorado group for the last two weeks, i.e. before the New Year holidays,the leaders predictably became the crime thriller Grand Theft Auto V (on PS4 and PS5 platforms), bloody fighting game Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate (PS4 and PS5) and soccer EA Sports FC 25 (PS5 and Xbox Series X & S). It earned a spot on the list with a fresh take on soccer with updated mechanics and lineups.
- These games have been well-deservedly recognized by audiences for their combination of unique gameplay, quality graphics, and compelling storylines. They demonstrate the interests of domestic gamers who prefer cult projects that have received worldwide recognition, - noted in the press service of the united retailer.
The shortlist of commercially successful products also included Atomic Heart for PS5, a game created in Russia that combines science fiction and alternative history, Mafia: Trilogy, a collection of remasters of the cult series about mafia dramas and family values, and Minecraft, a popular game that allows you to create your own universes out of cubes.
- In December, the most popular genre in RuStore was simulators. Usually action games are in the lead, but due to the increase in popularity of Grand Mobile and CarX Drift Racing 2, the genre became the leader. We note the growing interest of Russians in mobile games, including in-game purchases. In Q4 2024, the average check in games amounted to 670 rubles, which is 10% more than in Q3. This growth is due to the release of new foreign titles on the Russian market and New Year promotions for players, - said Varvara Yumina, editor-in-chief of RuStore.
December hits also included Tanks Blitz, Arena Breakout and Black Russia. The games consistently maintain a high level of downloads, entering the top 15 most downloaded titles for the whole year. Among the novelties in December, "Cyber Evolution: The Beginning" - one of the most popular titles in China, as well as Chicken Gun and "The Adventures of Peter and the Wolf" by Soyuzmultfilm, the expert added.
On Ozon, demand for video games grew by 30% in piece terms year-on-year. Soccer simulator FC 25, GTA V and Minecraft became the most popular.
According to Avito, in December 2024, sales of games for consoles increased by 12% when compared to November this year. The best-selling console games on the platform remain FIFA series games - they accounted for 11% of sales in the entire category in December. In December, Russians bought these games 17% more often than in November.
- The leader in terms of sales growth in December 2024 was the Marvels Spider-Man game. Russians bought it 33% more often than in November. In second place - Hogwarts Legacy, its figures for the month increased by 28%. The third place is occupied by Uncharted series games, which were purchased by 25% more often by Russians in December 2024. The fourth line is occupied by the aforementioned games of The Last of Us series with a 24% increase in sales, and the fifth - Cyberpunk 2077 (+23%), - said the head of the business unit "Electronics and household appliances" in "Avito" Pavel Komarov.
What other experts are talking about
As for the "traditional" leaders, everything is logical. People buy either intense story games to immerse themselves in the events and atmosphere for a long time, like GTA, or time-tested series to play with friends, in which you can jointly immerse yourself while sitting on the couch under the New Year salads - this is just the fighting game Mortal Kombat and soccer simulator EA Sports (formerly known as FIFA), says Yaroslav Meshalkin, managing partner of digital communications agency Heads'made.
- I explain the interest to the Mafia series by the fact that this year they announced the continuation of the legendary series in the form of the game Mafia: The Old Country. The new part will be released in the summer of 2025, so during the holidays people decided to replay the old parts, - said the expert.
According to game and technology expert portal GameMAG Alexander Loginov, the bulk of the audience buys games through digital services and stores, which are not counted in the statistics. And there the picture is most likely different. As for the picture on networks and marketplaces, we are most likely talking about bundles and big discounts.
- If we consider games as family entertainment, the leaders for Russians will be cooperative projects on one screen like the LEGO series, soccer, Mario Wonder and games like It Takes Two. Separately, the single-player "Hogwarts: Legacy" is worth mentioning. As for Minecraft's success, it's long been one of the most popular games among kids and teens. Parents can buy it as a gift together with consoles or separately," he summarized.
The third-person shooter Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment, was in some ways doomed to success, thanks to the fascinating and deeply developed Warhammer 40k setting, according to Alexander Gorbachenko, director of the Intercontinental Cybersports League.
- It seems to me that players and fans of this universe are happy not only with the game's release, but also with the requirements that the game has in terms of complexity, and of course we can not discount the juicy dynamic picture, - said the expert.
According to Valve, which owns the world's largest gaming platform Steam, games released in 2024 took up only about 15% of the playing time of all users of the platform. Releases of 2017-2023 years amounted to 47%, and "classic games", that is, all projects before 2016, took away from gamers 37% of the total time spent gaming.
