Market analyst Superdata has published its January report on the state of the digital games market. Spending declined in January on consoles across both the free-to-play and premium segments. Revenue in free-to-play dropped by a whopping 42% on consoles compared to last year, mostly a result of Fortnite’s decline. The lack of big new games in January also contributed to a 19% drop in the premium segment on consoles compared to 2019. The more revealing results, however, came from the battle royale genre. Superdata reveals that Fortnite’s gradual decline continues, with earnings having now hit their lowest level since November 2017.
Apex Legends saw a 12% boost (MoM) to active users on consoles in January with the launch of the Grand Soiree event, but the game generated less revenue compared to December. PUBG was the only winner out of all three. The launch of Season 6 in January saw a massive 512% boost in spending compared to December on PC, which bookends a period of low spending for the platform. Despite this, sentiment around the game from veteran players and streamers has not be positive, with one of the game’s biggest streamers deciding to take break, hitting its Twitch numbers.
