Correction 31/01/25: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the spend was for PC, instead of Steam.
$465 million was spent on Microsoft games over December, making the company the world’s biggest publisher across Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox.
That’s according to data firm Ampere, and includes sales ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6, which was one of the biggest games over the Holiday period. It also includes the release ofIndiana Jones and the Great Circle, which launched in December.
But it was Call of Duty that delivered the majority of the success. Call of Duty HQ, which includes Black Ops 6, attracted 38 million monthly users in November 2024, Ampere says, which set the game up strongly for December.
Microsofthas been putting increased focus on its multi-format strategy, and 64% of consumer spending on Microsoft titles in December was onPlayStationformats (driven by Call of Duty).
Ampere says that Microsoft was comfortably ahead of second-placedElectronic Arts, which generated $366 million over the same period. EA’s performance was driven byEA Sports FC 25, which delivered big numbers, albeit smaller than they were last year.
Ampere data also revealed that 30 million hours were spent playingFortniteon Christmas Day, which meant the average Fortnite gamer spent 2.3 hours on the game on that day. 20 million hours were also spent on Call of Duty games during December 25th.
The two big talking points of the month wereMarvel Rivals, which brought in 29 million monthly active users over December, while Path of Exile 2 generated $148 million, the firm estimates. And both of these successes made December a big month for Chinese publishers, which are growing their influence in the global games industry.
There were four key Chinese published games that drove the numbers last month, including Marvel Rivals (Netease), Path of Exile 2 (Tencent), Infinity Nikki (Papergames), andDelta Force(Tencent). As a result of those titles, Chinese games publishers Tencent (No.5) and Netease (No.9) entered Ampere’s monthly rankings for the first time.
“The growing global scale of major Chinese publishers adds a new dynamic to the console andPC gamingmarkets, and inevitably means added competition in what is already a hyper-competitive industry,” says Ampere research director Piers Harding-Rolls.
According to recent NPD data,PS5console sales are tracking ahead ofPS4in the US, whileXbox Series console sales lag behind Xbox One, highlighting the widening gap between the machines.
Last week, Microsoft’s gaming CEOPhil Spencerdid the media rounds, discussingwhere Xbox console hardware fits within its new, more open approach to multiplatform game development.
