Summary
PlayStation 5 exclusiveStellar Bladewas the top-selling game in the US in April, data showed. The title was first announced in 2019 asProject Evebefore ultimately becoming an exclusive for Sony’s current-generation console.
Developed by the South Korean studio Shift Up and released on PS5 on April 26,Stellar Bladeis a third-person action game set in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth. The Unreal Engine 4-powered title attracted some criticism and controversy following its launch, butStellar Bladehas since found success, especially in America, it seems.
Data from Circana recently shared online by Mat Piscatella, the analytics firm’s Executive Director for Video Games, showed thatStellar Bladewas the top-selling premium game in the US between April 7 and May 4. This means Shift Up’s latest release managed to outsell popular titles included in the report likeSea of ThievesandHelldivers 2in a little over a week, despite the latter games being out on the market for much longer. Ubisoft’s pirate experience launched in early 2018, but its much-awaited PS5 port arrived on April 30. Meanwhile, Arrowhead Game Studios' acclaimed shooter,one of the highest-grossing Sony-published gamesin history, shipped in February.
Aside from physical sales, the data that Piscatella shared only took into account full digital game purchases from Steam and the respective online stores of Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox. However, some titles featured in Circana’s report such asMLB: The Show 24andPrincess Peach: Showtime!, the latter of which is among the fewmajor releases for the Nintendo Switch in 2024, partially or completely lacked digital sales data. Moreover, any figures concerning add-on content were excluded from the report.
Top-Selling Games in the US According to Circana (April 2024)
So far,Helldivers 2is still the best-selling game of 2024 so far, according to additional data from Circana. However, the game’s reputation suffered due to a recent PlayStation Network-related controversy. Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani, who moved into the position after Johan Pilestedt took on a more creative role, outlined the company’s plans regarding thefuture ofHelldivers 2. Jorjani assured players that the studio will continue to work closely with Sony to improveHelldivers 2, and he acknowledged the challenges that have popped up as a result of the game’s massive success as well.
Shift Up has also revealed some of its future development plans. The team is considering asequel forStellar Blade, according to a financial report, and the company is also open to the idea of porting the game to PC. Additionally, studio founder andStellar Bladegame director Kim Hyung Tae said in a recent interview that the developer was willing to introduce fan-requested features like a photo mode to the game, but he asked fans to be patient as doing this would take some time.
Stellar Blade
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RECLAIM EARTH FOR HUMANKIND The future of humanity hangs in the balance in Stellar Blade, an all-new story-driven action adventure. Ravaged by strange, powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of the decimated human race has fled to a Colony in outer space. After travelling from the Colony, 7th Airborne Squad member EVE arrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a clear-cut mission: to save humankind by reclaiming Earth from the Naytiba – the malevolent force that has devastated it. But as EVE tackles the Naytiba one-by-one, piecing together the mysteries of the past in the ruins of human civilization, she realizes that her mission is far from straightforward. In fact, almost nothing is as it seems…
