Sports Games Drive Top Revenue in Q3 2024, Black Myth: Wukong Follows

Electronic Arts dominated the gaming market in Q3 2024, with their latest sports titles, EA Sports College Football 25 and EA Sports FC 25, capturing significant revenue shares across major markets.

According to Newzoo’s latest report covering six key regions (the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), EA Sports College Football 25 emerged as the quarter’s highest-earning game with an impressive 18% total revenue share among the top 10 games.

Following closely, EA Sports FC 25, released on September 27th, made an impressive entry, quickly reaching second place in revenue rankings.

Several other EA titles, including NBA 2K25, EA Sports Madden NFL 25, and EA Sports FC 24, were also among the top ten games in Q3. Together, these five sports games contributed over 28% of total gaming revenue from July to September, underscoring the continued popularity of sports titles among gamers.

The Rise of Black Myth: Wukong

In the adventure category, Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong secured the fifth position overall in revenue rankings.

The game’s strong performance is particularly notable given that its primary market, China—estimated to contribute around 70% of its sales—was not part of Newzoo’s analysis.

The action-adventure title captured nearly 4% of total revenue across the measured markets and dominated the PC platform with a 6.9% market share, narrowly edging out Valorant’s 6.8%.

It was also the sixth most-played adventure game (monthly active users -MAU) in September, highlighting its appeal among PC gamers.

Platform-Specific Performance

The PC gaming landscape saw an interesting mix of new releases and established titles in Q3. While Black Myth: Wukong led the chart, other notable performers included World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and the evergreen Sims 4. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 also made a strong showing, landing in fifth place on PC.

Console gaming told a different story, with sports titles accounting for an impressive 40% of revenue in Q3. EA Sports FC 24 continued its predecessor’s legacy, contributing over 11% to total console revenue.

Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom also made its mark, introducing the first main series entry to feature Zelda as the protagonist.

Palworld, the indie smash hit in Q1, ranked 14 across all six markets following its PlayStation release on September 24th.

Regional Differences

Market preferences showed clear regional variations.

American football and basketball games led the U.S. market, while European players favored traditional football games like EA Sports FC 25, and FC 24 which topped charts on both PlayStation and Xbox.

In the PC market, Black Myth: Wukong performed well across Europe while garnering high revenues in the U.S.

New Releases Making Their Mark

Beyond the sports titles, several new releases caught gamers’ attention. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was the second-highest-grossing new PC game and ranked fifth on consoles.

Despite mixed reception from critics and fans, Star Wars Outlaws performed particularly well, securing 10% of new game revenues on PC and 3% on consoles.

The First Descendant, Frostpunk 2, and Chained Together also made notable appearances in the PC charts.

Sony’s Astro Bot celebrated the PlayStation’s 30th anniversary with both commercial success and critical acclaim. The exclusive game earned positive reviews across major platforms and contributed over 1.7% to new console game revenues.

For more insights on the top-grossing games by region and platform, see Newzoo’s full report.

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