As notable as Gears of War: E-Day has been for Xbox, especially after its console exclusivity announcement, the buzz around its sales performance has been nonexistent. The same applied to Halo: Campaign Evolved, another high-profile Xbox release, but the answer may be that it didn’t meet expectations.
Alinea Analytics estimates the cover-based shooter has sold 230,000 copies, with Xbox (both Series X/S and PC) accounting for 62,000 units. Steam allegedly made up 168,000 units, but the bigger story is how much of an impact Game Pass has seemingly had. Despite the reported low Xbox sales, 1.7 million have allegedly played through their subscription.
A sizable portion of that, apparently 722,000, paid for the $30 Premium Edition upgrade, granting them advanced access to the title. This means most of the reported $37 million revenue is through Xbox, despite more copies sold on Steam.
While these are estimates, not official numbers, that revenue wouldn’t come anywhere close to covering the game’s alleged $400 million+ budget. With The Coalition reportedly concerned about layoffs, especially after Xbox’s big reorganization, one would hope this isn’t a sign of future trouble. Stay tuned for more details, and in the meantime, check out our impressions on the excellent campaign and multiplayer.
