Gears of War: E-Day Sold About 230,000 Copies but Generated $37 Million

Gears of War: E-Day had sold about 230,000 copies as of October 9, but its total revenue had already reached $37 million. Alinea Analytics estimates that copy sales do not show the full picture because the game is available through Game Pass.

About 168,000 copies were sold on Steam, while roughly 62,000 were bought on Xbox consoles and PC through Microsoft’s ecosystem. Xbox generated approximately $26 million, compared with $11 million on Steam.

Game Pass Added Upgrade Revenue

Another 1.7 million users launched the game through Game Pass. Alinea Analytics estimates that 722,000 of them paid about $30 for the Premium Edition Upgrade, which provided access five days before the full release.

The full release took place on October 6, while Premium Edition owners began playing on October 1. About 250,000 additional users bought early access between the review embargo lifting and the full launch.

Microsoft earned approximately $21.7 million from the upgrades. Including those payments, the number of people who directly paid for access to the game or a copy approached 950,000.

Different Playtime on Xbox and Steam

Analyst Rhys Elliott considers the results weak for one of Xbox’s major franchises despite the game’s strong critical reception. He suggested that without day-one Game Pass availability, some users might have bought the game for $70 instead of paying about $30 for early access tied to an active subscription.

Alinea Analytics also found a clear difference in playtime. Fifty-four percent of Xbox users played for five hours or less, compared with 32% of Steam users; 19% of Xbox users played more than 15 hours, versus 33% on Steam.

Seventeen percent of Xbox users played for less than an hour, compared with 6% on Steam. The analyst attributed the gap to the subscription model, which makes it easier to try a new release without a separate purchase, although not all players continue for long.

The figures raise the question of whether future Gears of War games will remain available on Game Pass on release day. Another possible approach would be launching later installments on PlayStation to reach a wider audience.