The Mind-Blowing Success of Starfield Despite Xbox Game Pass—You Won't Believe the Sales!
Starfield's launch month witnessed phenomenal sales, defying expectations even as it debuted on Xbox Game Pass from day one Emerging data reveals the game's outstanding success, captivating players and surpassing all predictions
Highlights
Starfield achieved immense U.S. sales during its launch month, despite being available on Xbox Game Pass, highlighting its historic success.
Microsoft highly values the expansion of Xbox Game Pass, despite the fact that it may eat into conventional sales. Furthermore, the company persistently strives to reach broader audiences by means of its assertive acquisition strategy. As evidence of this, Starfield emerged as the top-selling game in the United States for a span of five weeks, surpassing the sales of other recently launched titles and securing its position as the seventh best-selling game of the year.
Starfield experienced significant sales in the United States during its first month, despite being available on Xbox Game Pass from day one, according to recently revealed data. This information provides further insight into the game's remarkable success, which began when it entered early access on September 1.
For a while now, Microsoft has prioritized the expansion of its subscription service as much as, if not more than, direct game sales. This approach is a key element of the company's ongoing aggressive acquisition strategy that aims to reach larger audiences. However, Microsoft internally recognizes that Xbox Game Pass may have an impact on traditional sales.
Despite a drawback, Starfield quickly became a major hit in terms of revenue. According to a report by Circana, Bethesda's latest game was the highest-selling title in the U.S. during a five-week period ending on September 30. This galactic RPG surpassed new releases like Mortal Kombat 1, EA Sports FC 24, and Payday 3, securing its place among the top five best-selling games in the country at that time.
This successful launch catapulted Starfield to the seventh spot on the list of best-selling games of the year, as reported by Circana. The only game still outperforming Bethesda's RPG in terms of annual U.S. sales is Madden NFL 24, which has been on the market for two weeks longer than Starfield. Currently, Madden NFL 24 holds the third position on the chart, below The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Hogwarts Legacy.
Starfield would have ranked even higher if it wasn't released on day one of Xbox Game Pass. However, being included in the subscription service benefited the RPG. This was evident in September when Starfield became Bethesda's biggest launch, attracting six million players on PC and Xbox consoles within a day of leaving early access. The game continued to gain momentum, reaching 10 million players by the end of summer. The impact on Xbox Game Pass subscriptions will be revealed in Microsoft's next earnings report on October 24. Despite being available on Game Pass, Starfield is already the second best-selling console exclusive in the U.S. for 2023, trailing only Tears of the Kingdom.
Starfield is available now on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
