Console digital sales were up 25% in September

There’s only one single-player game in the list of the top 10 selling digital downloads, as games as a service tighten their grip.

Since it’s the time of year many publishers release their financial reports, we’ve recently had a sobering insight into just how much money games publishers make out of digital sales.

Activision revealed they made over $3.6 billion from in-game content sales in 2016, while in the last three months EA made $959 million in revenues – $689 million of which were from digital game sales and microtransactions.

But now analyst group SuperData has given a look at the wider picture, and the top 10 PC and console games according to how much they make from digital sales (which include microtransactions and loot boxes, but also buying the game itself as a download).

Unfortunately there aren’t any specific sales figures, but overall it’s revealed that digital games revenue grew 15% worldwide in September, with players spending $8.3 billion across console, PC, and mobile in one month alone.

Console digital revenues were up by an even larger 25%, thanks to the launch of Destiny 2. Which became the fastest-selling digital console game ever.

But these aren’t just dry financial details. The games you see listed here are the games that are making the most money for publishers, and that means they’re the types of games that you’re going to see more and more of in the next year and beyond.

And you’ll notice that almost all of them are online, games as a service type releases that are filled with microtransactions and loot boxes.

The only exception is Divinity: Original Sin II on PC, which suggests single-player games can still be successful – but only when they’re of the very highest quality.

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