One of the more fascinating data points from Death Stranding 2’s PC launch is the halo effect it triggered on PS5.

Noticeably boosted copies sold, even accounting for the 29% discount on PS5 (same discount had far lower spikes previously).

More here: alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/death-stra...

January had a lot of neat Game Pass additions. Here's how many new players they brought in via the service (Alinea Analytics estimates):

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/game-pass-...

Games with co-op modes generated $8.2B in gross revenue on Steam last year (Alinea estimates).

This is up 9% over 2024 and marks the highest revenue ever recorded for co-op games on Steam. 2024 and 2025 even beat the COVID-accelerated high from 2021.

Bigger opportunity here than PvP, I reckon.

Helldivers 2 sells 20M copies We look at our estimates for Helldivers 2 – as well as how much revenue co-op games generated on Steam last year. Democracy managed?

Helldivers 2 has sold 20M copies and made $700M+ in revenues.

WILD.

Our estimates also show that over 250K gamers have played Helldivers 2 for over 500 hours.

Super Earth is in dedicated hands.

Big deep dive:

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/helldivers...

We already covered Forza, but here's a list of the other 2025 Xbox-published games that sold over 100K on PlayStation.

This list doesn't include Forza or CoD.

Full write-up on the free Substack here: alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/how-2025s-...

ARC Raiders dominated Steam again last week, but indies also crushed it An update on our Arc Raiders numbers, as well as metrics for last week's other top sellers, including a bunch of co-op, Dispatch, and a DLC. Great stuff.

Here's the top 5 Steam games by copies sold last week (Alinea estimates)

INDIES <3

ARC was #1 for the 4th week in a row, selling almost 750K copies last week. This brings its total on Steam to 4M. It's quickly approaching 7M across all platforms.

Full wee analysis of the top 5:

Sony has made over $1.2 billion on Steam via selling over 43M copies of PlayStation Studios games (Alinea estimates)

Here's the top five PlayStation games on Steam by copies sold, and a full analysis:

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/the-top-se...

Valve’s bold, expected return to the living room Valve has already made an estimated $4B+ on Steam this year. The Steam Machine is a strategy to boost its revenues and ecosystem further. Here's our take on Valve's upcoming console-like PC.

Just published a big analysis of the Steam Machine, including the audience, Valve's angle, pricing, value propositions versus console, challenges, and eating Xbox's lunch.

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/valves-bol...

ARC Raiders has sold 2.5M copies Also, co-op games already made $7B+ on Steam this year. We use Alinea estimates to dive into these topics and explore the pros and cons of extraction shooters.

We have ARC Raiders at 2.5M sold, with 69.2% on Steam (1.7M), 17.3% on PlayStation (400K), and 13.5% on Xbox (300K+).

Full analysis in the Alinea Insight Substack:

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/arc-raider...

October's top 10 PlayStation games by copies sold (Alinea estimates)

So much variety. Blockbusters, small games, old games, and new ones are selling. Sports games dominated and perform best on consoles.

‘‘CoNsOlE iS DeAd’’ arguments are getting silly. alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/octobers-t...

Ghost of Yotei outsold Assassin’s Creed Shadows on PS5 in under three weeks Analysing why Yotei has already sold 2.5M copies, but it Shadows took seven months to sell 2.4M on PS5. Plus, another look at our Helldivers 2 estimates (almost 20M sold!)

After seven months on the market, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has sold less on PS5 (2.4M) than Ghost of Yotei did (2.5M) in under three weeks (Alinea estimates)

This samurai showdown is just about settled, I reckon.

Full analysis in the new free Substack:

We've got @superhys.bsky.social joining Grubb to end the week on Game Mess Mornings!

We're talking about new Nintendo patents, The Crew 2 getting updates, Silent Hill 2 Remake, and more stories for your Friday.

twitch.tv/giantbomb
youtube.com/live/bCCYOYy...

Deadlock is Steam’s most wishlisted upcoming multiplayer game Zooming in on our wishlist data for Deadlock, before looking at some benchmarks for Alinea estimates (our numbers vs. October’s publisher announcements).

Valve’s upcoming hero shooter, Deadlock, has 5.5M wishlists (Alinea Analytics estimates)

Players are continuing to find (and wishlist) it despite the lack of marketing. Over 1.2M people did the past three months alone.

Wishlist data deep dive here:

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/deadlock-i...

Battlefield 6 is a smash-hit launch: 6.5m+ sold and counting A BIG data deep dive into the triumphant return of the Battlefield franchise. But can EA keep up the momentum?

So that Battlefield 6 is doing alright then...

Over 6.5 million copies sold, as per Alinea estimates (56.7% via Steam, 23.7% via PS5, and 19.6% via Xbox).

It's made over $350M in gross revenue so far.

But can it keep up the momentum?

Big data deep dive:

September's top games by downloads across Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox (Alinea estimates)

Skate really exceeded expectations (keep in mind it's F2P, though).

Full write-up in the new free Alinea Substack -- as well as my take on the Saudi EA buyout:

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/skate-lead...

Hades II has already sold 2M+ in early access, as per our estimates.

Since its early-access launch in May 2024, it's generated almost $55M in revenue.

But the floodgates will open when it hits 1.0 TOMORROW.

Now that I've finished Silksong (Groal the Great🖕), I can't wait to get back into Hades.

Last week's top Steam games by copies sold for you! (Alinea Analytics estimates)

It's indies and horror galore. CAN'T BLOODY WAIT for spooky season.

More data and insights in the new free Alinea Insight Substack.

Link: alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/dying-ligh...

PEAK sold 1.7 million copies last week, as a Warhammer remaster hits the chart We dive into the top-selling games on Steam last week. Plus, a quick update on how Battlefield 6 is doing after its second public beta.

Link: open.substack.com/pub/alineaan...

We’re off to gamescom from today onwards, so here’s a shorter, early edition of the newsletter!

Peak approaching 10M copies sold and more goodies (link in post below) 👇

Grubb has got Rhys Elliot (@superhys.bsky.social) on today's show to end the week with Nintendo patents, Sony going multiplatform, and more to end the week.

twitch.tv/giantbomb
youtube.com/live/h_82IfH...

July's top games by downloads across PS, Xbox, and Steam for you!

Lots of Game Pass games, but PEAK came out on top (again).

Good shi'

Full write-up on the Substack (free): alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/julys-most...

July was a fun month for copies sold on PlayStation.

Two million-plus sellers, new launches, Forza (AGAIN), and more.

Get the full analysis, and me ranting about the $100 GTA discourse, in the latest @alineaanalytics.bsky.social Substack newsletter:

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/ea-and-xbo...

Two in one week 👀👇

Another packed data and insights newsletter drop 🗞️🎮👇

Forza Horizon 5 is now 2025’s top-selling new PS5 game, racing past copies sold for huge first-party PlayStation titles Plus, updated Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox numbers for titles like Monster Hunter Wilds, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Expedition 33. And a quick analysis of why Xbox is transitioning from console.

And 2025's top PlayStation game by copies sold (so far) is ...

Forza Horizon 5 with 3 million copies sold.

Wild times.

More numbers and good stuff in the new Substack:

Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox’s most downloaded games (week 28): College Football 26 and Tony Hawk score Plus, a look at Steam's top games by copies sold, a video of our appearance on the world's most popular PlayStation podcast, RimWorld's new DLC smashing it, and more.

Just published a new edition of the newsletter on Substack, and it's a juicy one!

Link below

June’s most downloaded games, PlayStation sales data, and why it’s so hard to succeed in live services It's cross-platform madness! Plus, Death Stranding 2’s launch, how PlayStation’s PC ports can benefit sales on PS5, and a look at Q2's game investments. Also, sports, sports and more sports.

Just published a huge data-packed newsletter!

Insights include:

Forza Horizon 5 selling almost as many copies as Astro Bot on PS5

June's most downloaded games across Steam, PS, and Xbox

Death Stranding's launch sales.

And loads more!

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/junes-most...

June's top 10 PlayStation games by copies sold (estimates):

🥇EA FC 25: 905 K
🥈Death Stranding 2: 687 K
🥉Rematch: 569 K
4️⃣Nightreign: 558 K
5️⃣Forza Horizon 5: 555 K
6️⃣Grand Theft Auto V: 431 K
7️⃣Minecraft: 416 K
8️⃣Stellar Blade: 241 K
9️⃣Expedition 33: 240 K
🔟TLOU2: 150 K

Full analysis with lotsa data:

Just published a new edition of our free Alinea Insight newsletter on Substack.

Would love it if you checked it out and subbed 🫶

alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/junes-stea...