Depending on who you talk to, free-to-play mobile titles like Clash of Clans and Game of War either embody everything wrong with modern video games, or are shinning examples of a bold new microtransaction-focused monetization platform for the gaming industry.
Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, one thing is for sure; Clash of Clans and Game of War made bank in 2015, so much so that their combined digital revenue almost matches the digital versions of the top 10 console games on the market, which amounted to $2.1 billion.
Delving into specific numbers cited by SuperData Research, a game industry revenue analyst, Game of War: Fire Age, developed by Machine Zone, earned $779 million in revenue in 2015, and Supercell’s Clash of Clans, made approximately $1.3 billion. The combined total revenue for both of these mobile tiles amounts to an astounding approximately $2.o79 billion.
In comparison, marquee console games like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare earned $335 million in revenue through the Playstation Store and Xbox Marketplace. Similarly, Grand Theft Auto 5 earned $332 million in digital revenue.
While these numbers are undeniably impressive, most people still purchase video games at retail rather than digitally, which is a significant reason why traditional console sales are comparatively low in this study. It’s worth noting that Grand Theft Auto V, the top earning game of all time, made $1 billion USD in just three days following its release, and $800 million in its first 24 hours on store shelves.
[source]SuperData Research[/source]
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