Publishers should start having more faith in Windows

Microsoft’s plan to launch Rise of the Tomb Raider last year as a timed-exclusive game for the Xbox platform may have cost it and Crystal Dynamics some nights of fitful sleep. The sequel to the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot was launched on PC in late January, almost three months after its initial release on Xbox One and Xbox 360. The Windows version apparently ended up selling almost three times more copies than the Xbox One version during the first month of each version’s launch.

This revelation is according to the digital sales report for January 2016, published by known research firm Superdata. According to the group’s report, there were two major factors that largely caused the Xbox One version to fail in achieving good digital sales. The first of this was the fact that Fallout 4 released on the same day. Additionally, the game was restricted to a single platform, one that is trying to catch up to its competition.

For folks in the market, it was choosing between a highly anticipated installment in a popular post-apocalyptic series and a Tomb Raider sequel that – for the time – was exclusive to a single platform. On the other hand, the launch of the PC version of Rise of the Tomb Raider enjoyed a rather quiet period with next to no competition.

Superdata’s report mentioned no substantial statistics; hence, making it a difficult task to draw meaningful conclusions about total sales. However, it’s safe to assume that the PC version ended up exceeding Microsoft’s expectations. Rise of the Tomb Raider is now scheduled to release on PlayStation 4 later this year. The release will probably help Microsoft rake in a few extra figures.

Elsewhere in the report, Consoles and PC have seen a surge of 30 and 33 percent year-on-year growth respectively. This spike is confirmation that the future is indeed digital. The recent acceptance of purchasing digital games – more convenient most of the times – from multiple online sources has proved well for the industry.

As for digital game sales, every aspect of the market has witnessed growth; except MMOs that are still featuring a subscription-based model. This makes it even more evident that World of Warcraft is already planning on switching its users to a free-to-play model. It’s not about Blizzard being unable to withstand the dwindling user-base; a transition into a free-to-play model will help the game survive.