Rise of the Tomb Raider was easily one of the best games of 2015, but a lot of people missed out on the chance to play because of its strange exclusivity on Xbox One. Microsoft held on to the sequel tightly, making sure that their console was the only one with Lara Croft on it during the holidays, and Windows being the second to get to it shortly after. And it seems that the latter has somewhat blown the Xbox One out the water in terms of sales.
That’s according to SuperData, who collect information regarding digital sales of titles over a range of different platforms. Putting Rise of the Tomb raider under the microscope, SuperData reports that Crystal Dynamics sequel sold close to three times more on PC than Xbox One, attributing the lower console sales to launching alongside the likes of Fallout 4. Something with Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg previously shrugged off as a non issue.
But that does paint an interesting picture. Microsoft claimed earlier this year to be very happy with the sales of Rise of the Tomb raider, stating that they have passed well over 1 million copies. If true, and taking into account that most of PC sales are digital anyway, it means that Tomb Raider sold rather astronomically on PC alone. And that’s before it has a chance to launch on PS4 later this year.
Although SuperData does point out that the month of January was otherwise relatively quiet, which definitely helped Rise of the Tomb raider’s chances. Looking at the whole picture, game sales during last month rose by 8% year on year, with a total of $6.3 billion generated in digital sales during the month. That’s without a large handful of large releases, which is quite impressive.
But there’s little doubt now that Rise of the Tomb Raider is doing well despite the backlash it received post-launch for it’s exclusivity plans. Would it have made a difference in the short-term. Possibly, but perhaps increasing the demand for the sequel wasn’t a bad idea either.
Last Updated: February 26, 2016
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 26, 2016 at 13:10
Heh. Must be the PS4 gamers buying it on their PCs. Everyone knows PC gamers don’t buy day one. ;P
Corrie
February 26, 2016 at 13:12
Or you know everyone read neogaf and picked up the game on the windows store for R144 :p
Viking Of Science
February 26, 2016 at 13:31
wait, was that a thing?
Corrie
February 26, 2016 at 13:47
Yeah all you had to do was change your region to Ukraine on windows 10 purchase and then go back to your region
Was a dirty trick but hey cheap new release
Mossel
February 26, 2016 at 14:33
Wait, what!?
Hammersteyn
February 26, 2016 at 13:13
http://i.imgur.com/gdAqzdU.gif
Corrie
February 26, 2016 at 13:48
The motto and creed of Sir @hammersteyn:disqus ….except the shut up since no talky talky means no upvote
#themathneverlies
Hammersteyn
February 26, 2016 at 13:52
XD
Captain JJ the "saviour"
February 26, 2016 at 13:33
LOOOOOL
Ryanza
February 26, 2016 at 13:31
This is the news i was waiting for concerning Tomb Raider. More sales on PC than Xbone. This is the shit we were talking about when that exclusive deal was announced.
We know that games sell much better on consoles than on PC because most of the gamers are on consoles.
We also know that Xbox has never been the home of the single player.
We also know that PS and PC saved the Tomb Raider franchise with the last Tomb Raider game.
Xbox has always been the home of multiplayer and first person shooters.
Now that PS4 is the home of everything. Xbox One can just get in the fucking sea. #fuckmicrosoft #fuckxboxone #fuckxboxonedrmdream.
If you remember the Tomb Raider outcry for the exclusive deal and what people were saying. Then it’s important to remember the outcry against DRM when Microsoft announced heavy full DRM for Xbox One. #fuckdrm
Don’t Support DRM. Cyberpunk 2077 is coming.
Captain JJ the "saviour"
February 26, 2016 at 13:35
Ryanza.
I agree.
Sucks that MS wants to put their games on the Windows store though. Talk about people not having a clue about the market they operate in.
Hammersteyn
February 26, 2016 at 13:36
Oooooooooh you commented on his comment, now you’ve done it.
Captain JJ the "saviour"
February 26, 2016 at 13:36
I like to live dangerously.
miaau
February 26, 2016 at 13:36
why is that a problem? I do not get it, to be honest.
Are the games ONLY on windows store?
Captain JJ the "saviour"
February 26, 2016 at 13:40
Apparently it will only be on the Windows Store. Call it a new DRM-type system with the games connected to your MS account. ANOTHER gaming client, in a way.
The other problem is that Steam is where the gamers are at and most of the market. And with the SteamOS gaining speed how long until people are creating game-only pc’s loading up SteamOS only?
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 13:43
Here’s a nice new domain name:
Xbox.steampowered.com
Captain JJ the "saviour"
February 26, 2016 at 13:44
I don’t even bother with Origin anymore. There are just too many clients. I only use Uplay when I buy games through Steam on sale. And even that takes some convincing….because Uplay.
Hammersteyn
February 26, 2016 at 13:47
He means Steam might be coming to XBOX
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 13:50
I wonder what’s cooking there and what yesterdays press event was all about? With Xbox One mouse & keyboard support incoming…..no, can’t be, can it? Surely not?
Hammersteyn
February 26, 2016 at 13:51
Should be interesting
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 13:54
Probably just more cross buy/cross save/cross play nonsense…..????
Hammersteyn
February 26, 2016 at 13:55
Cross buy – Nonsense
Cross save – what?
Cross play – not nonsense
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
February 26, 2016 at 13:48
Uplay is the gaming equivalent of syphilis… Origin is obviously gonorrhea…
miaau
February 26, 2016 at 14:21
funny
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 14:28
Well yeah, not sure why steam would register such a sub domain, could mean anything….or nothing?
Mossel
February 26, 2016 at 14:40
Game-only PCs… almost…like a console! O_O
Captain JJ the "saviour"
February 26, 2016 at 14:54
It’s coming man.
Not for me, because I’ve got too many other software programs running like guitar amp plugins and the like. But I can see people starting to do that.
miaau
February 26, 2016 at 13:35
Are you sure that “Or you know everyone read neogaf and picked up the game on the windows store for R144 :p” was not also reason, such a cheap offering?
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 13:40
ROFL!
RinceThis
February 26, 2016 at 13:42
You must be laughing because you own a PC now?
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 13:44
Always have….????
Hammersteyn
February 26, 2016 at 13:46
So very privileged 😛
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 13:47
That I truly am indeed!????????????
ElimiNathan
February 26, 2016 at 13:43
So much anger, so much rage. But agreed
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
February 26, 2016 at 13:46
Cyperpunk 2077 will be all I need!
Ryanza
February 26, 2016 at 13:56
Witcher 3 captured the fantasy games , swords, magic, jungle. And they did a good job. fantasy gamers loved it.
But gamers really love shooting games. There is a reason why the market is floaded with shooting games.
Cyberpunk 2077 will have guns and shooting, with rpg elements and a cyberpunk fucking world.
Cyberpunk 2077 has a good chance of being fucking great. Let’s hope CDPR doesn’t fuck it up and capture the gun gamers out there.
Witcher 3 + Cyberpunk 2077 is all you should really need when it comes to video games.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
February 26, 2016 at 14:10
Listen to this man, he speaks words of wisdom.
RinceThis
February 26, 2016 at 13:58
Oh gods you went there…
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 13:48
NO! It’s too early on a Friday to be in the glue drawer already!
Ryanza
February 26, 2016 at 13:50
You have a draw just for glue. Damn. Interesting but damn.
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 13:52
No, I have a “D R A W E R” for glue only, see, already too late, go home, enjoy the weekend!????????????
Ryanza
February 26, 2016 at 13:57
drawer me a picture with the glue.
Pieter Kruger
February 26, 2016 at 13:58
I know, was a looooong week!????????????
Ryanza
February 26, 2016 at 13:58
http://i2.wp.com/recycledcrafts.craftgossip.com/files/2015/05/Painting-On-Wet-Glue-sun-catcher.jpg?resize=409%2C409
Captain JJ the "saviour"
February 26, 2016 at 13:33
F@ck the timed exclusives.
This is why.
RinceThis
February 26, 2016 at 13:41
BWAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHA! Breath, BWAHAHAHAHA!
Hammersteyn
February 26, 2016 at 13:41
I actually laughed at this comment
RinceThis
February 26, 2016 at 13:42
🙂
Captain JJ the "saviour"
February 26, 2016 at 13:42
MS (in gaming) is the perfect example of a company run by people who have no idea what their company’s customers actually like.
RinceThis
February 26, 2016 at 13:42
They have NO CLUE what they are doing.
Hammersteyn
February 26, 2016 at 13:46
HALO all the things, more HALO sequels, put HALO in Killer Instinct, put Cortana in Win10, make more HALO TV series and movies, sue Beyoncé for calling her song HALO and hope the space cow never runs dry. Also Forza and Gears of War
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
February 26, 2016 at 13:46
Gears of War will save the Xbone!!
Jonah Cash
February 26, 2016 at 14:19
Or the PC as it will probably launch there as well….
Mossel
February 26, 2016 at 14:37
Agreed. I read the guy’s reason on deciding to make the release date same as Fallout 4. Saying something along the lines of CoD was the other option and that game sells way more than Fallout. Idiot, Fallout 4 and Tomb Raider is the same target market. CoD is a completely different one.
Captain JJ the "saviour"
February 26, 2016 at 14:55
They need to make some changes there.
I volunteer. For half his salary.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
February 26, 2016 at 13:45
That’s what happens when you have a decades long drought on PC. PC gamers will buy anything. Poor bastards…. 🙁
Krabby Paddy
February 26, 2016 at 14:00
Actually it is the millions of mobile gamers that will buy ANYTHING.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
February 26, 2016 at 14:11
Mmmm… yes, there are many whales among them.
Tyrone Jackson
February 27, 2016 at 07:29
>decades long
Wew lad.
Ghost In The Rift
February 26, 2016 at 13:51
This made me smile, so rarely that you hear something positive about the “Master Race”.
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 26, 2016 at 13:56
We’re still all elitist dicks though, right? I don’t want standards to drop.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
February 26, 2016 at 14:12
Now there’s an imagine I wanted to avoid… PC dicks in a circle… shudder!
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 26, 2016 at 14:15
Krabby Paddy
February 26, 2016 at 13:56
I think the good Xbox one reviews of the game might have helped it with day one sales on pc. Also it wasn’t badly priced if you pre-ordered on steam. R499 isn’t bad these days for a new game release. In the last 2 years it is the only game I was really happy I pre-ordered besides The Witcher 3.
Aries
February 26, 2016 at 14:28
Damn traitors, thought we waiting to get it on steam sale for that exclusive deal with the Xbone
Cole Train
February 26, 2016 at 15:41
Impressive sales considering it sold over a million on Xbox one a while back. Nice launch on MS platforms…still loving it.
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
February 26, 2016 at 15:45
All that exclusivity must have come at a price…
oVg
February 26, 2016 at 16:00
Quantum Break is up next. Then we will see if owning a console is a viable solution.