Skate leads August’s high video games by downloads on PlayStation, Steam, and Xbox

September was an enormous downloads month for heavy-hitters throughout Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam, with some long-awaited titles lastly surfacing – and one legacy franchise blowing up.

Let’s dive into September’s downloads high 10 earlier than tackling the 12 months’s largest gaming information thus far: Electronic Arts going non-public.

Speaking of Electronic Arts, two of its titles took the highest 2 spots in September’s obtain chart. EA’s Skate (#1) has had an unimaginable comeback. Fifteen years after Skate 3, Skate’s free-to-play reboot launched in early entry final month after an prolonged interval of preview builds.

While crucial consensus has been combined, Skate acid-dropped right into a gnarly 14 million downloads throughout all platforms final month.

This represents one of many largest single-month launches we’ve tracked this 12 months. Its free-to-play live-service mannequin has clearly labored:

• It’s attracting lapsed followers from the previous trilogy: Comments on EA’s Instagram asking for Skate’s return have lengthy been a meme – severely, each video had a whole lot of ‘’skate 4’’ feedback. I assumed it was principally a joke, however a number of hundreds of thousands of oldsters have proven up in earnest.

• Pulling in new audiences by way of low boundaries to entry and shareable short-video content material on TikTookay (such content material from Skate 3 has been lively on the platform for years, another excuse for the remake’s inexperienced gentle). The builders actually performed into the ridiculous physics, and the streamer bait is paying off.

• Hitting majorly with console gamers: As of at the moment, Skate has pulled in over 14 million gamers. Owing to its legacy on console (together with Game Pass inclusion), its Xbox numbers have trumped its Steam numbers, with console accounting for 75.4% of gamers (46.2% on PlayStation and 29.1% on Xbox) and Steam accounting for the remaining 24.7%, which you’ll be able to see beneath within the Alinea platform screenshot:

Meanwhile, EA FC 26 took #2 with virtually 9 million downloads, persevering with its run as the sport to beat within the AAA sports activities style.

PlayStation accounted for the lion’s share of the downloads (67.5%), adopted by Xbox’s 26.9%. Steam accounted for simply 5.7% – or, round 500K gamers. Despite small upticks, conventional sports activities video games are nonetheless struggling to penetrate on PC relative to different genres.

But they’re thriving on console.

Looking at launch-aligned launch information for FC’s lead platform (PlayStation), FC 26 is promoting sooner than its predecessor and sooner than 2025’s different AAA licensed sports activities video games:

As you may see, FC 26 offered far more copies in every week than NBA, College Football, MLB The Show, and Madden did mixed. It’s additionally promoting 1.4x sooner than final 12 months’s FC 25 did after every week.

But week one is at all times top-heavy for Ultimate Team gamers, who pump within the hours (and the money) early to offer their groups a profitable probability on-line.

We’ll be returning to this sports activities information in subsequent newsletters, so hit subscribe beneath at no cost to get it first.

AAA has dominated September’s obtain checklist, however the lengthy look forward to Silksong planted an indie flag on the September high 5. The Hollow Knight sequel, whose launch we coated right here, simply amassed over 6 million downloads within the final three weeks of final month.

Steam accounted for 4 million of these downloads, whereas console accounted for the rest. Xbox tripled PlayStation’s obtain numbers on account of Silksong’s Game Pass inclusion.

Did you recognize that our platform has information on what number of gamers accessed a recreation by way of Game Pass or PlayStation Plus? Reach out here for a demo.

NBA 2K26 slam-dunked 3.5 million downloads, rating fourth total. 2K’s early-access technique as soon as once more labored, as half of the sport’s gamers got here within the one-week early entry interval.

This is sort of the upsell, as that entry was gated for many who didn’t pay a minimum of $100 for the Superstar Edition.

Elsewhere, Borderlands 4 cracked into the highest 5 with 3.1 million downloads. While not as explosive as its predecessors, Borderlands 4’s robust Steam uptake and regular console gross sales counsel it’s positioned for lengthy legs – as soon as the reductions begin coming in, that’s.

Luckily, our wishlist information exhibits there are nonetheless loads of gamers in price-sensitive markets ready to chew the bullet (after which shoot it, from their gun, in Borderlands 4 – sorry).

As for the remainder of the highest 10:

• Delta Force (#6) continued to hold across the charts, including almost 2 million free-to-play downloads throughout platforms (virtually 1,000,000 by way of PlayStation).

• Dying Light: The Beast (#7) additionally amassed virtually 2 million downloads, because the standalone growth continued its robust efficiency from earlier within the month. It’s now offered over 2 million items throughout all platforms.

• Arena Breakout Infinite (#8), a free-to-play extraction shooter, launched on Steam final month, a 12 months after its non-Steam PC launch. During that 12 months, the title amassed over 2 million wishlists on Steam and most transformed to gamers throughout the launch month. The jury remains to be out on the long-term potential of Arena Breakout, however early retention metrics appear promising for this area of interest title.

• PEAK (#9) continued to climb to new heights, with over 1,000,000 downloads final month on Steam alone. The hit co-op climbing title has crossed 12 million copies offered and revenues of $70 million since launching in June.

• Stardew Valley (#10) additionally harvested over 1,000,000 downloads throughout platforms final month. Over 67% of those got here by way of PlayStation, as Stardew was considered one of September’s PS Plus video games. That mentioned, it’s additionally a type of video games that’ll by no means maintain promoting, pushed by ongoing phrase of mouth and intermittent reductions. To that finish, Stardew offered 350K copies on Steam final month.

That’s the obtain chart executed, so let’s deal with this week’s largest gaming information.

Electronic Arts goes non-public in a $55B leveraged buyout (LBO), the most important ever, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners’ Jared Kushner (Trump’s son-in-law). It’s $36B in fairness, with ~$20B in junk-rated debt (single-B). It’s anticipated to shut in 2027. And to me (Rhys), it may be seen as one large geopolitical assertion dressed up as a enterprise deal.

The deal is a shock for certain, however it’s additionally not essentially a shock. Gaming is infrastructure, not simply leisure. Infrastructure may be purchased — not simply by tech giants – however by regimes.

Before we get into the nice, unhealthy, and the ugly, let’s begin very excessive degree:

• Is this good for buyers? In the quick time period, sure. Long time period is much less sure, although.

• Is this good for workers? Generally talking, sure for the minority of share-owning staff. But no for almost all of staff, who don’t personal shares. (particularly after 12 months one, when the cost-cutting will start in earnest)

• Is this good for the business? Consolidation is unhealthy for competitors, however this deal can be no worse for the business than the Xbox acquisition demise march and Ubisoft’s current nepotism-fuelled passing of the baton.

Let’s zoom in a bit.

• Creative respiratory room (theoretically, anyway): Going non-public removes the quarterly earnings circus. In an ideal world, this implies much less bureaucratic sludge, sooner greenlighting, and precise artistic risk-taking. Yet, the $20 billion in debt looming over this transaction flies within the face of this benefit.

• Capital infusion from a constant purchaser: Whether you like it or hate it, Saudi cash is gaming’s largest liquidity engine proper now.

• Strategic synergies, particularly in sports activities: Silver Lake is deeply tied into international sports activities franchises (Manchester City possession, for instance). Meanwhile, the PIF has been recognized to sportswash by way of its main stakes in esports, soccer, golf, and wrestling. Now it’s set its sights on the world’s premier interactive sports activities IP machine. There’s business logic in vertically integrating content material, leagues, and distribution.

• Financial winners: EA is now at $210 per share (vs pre-deal buying and selling at $160ish and all-time excessive of $179), so each longtime EA stockholder – together with some staff – simply noticed a large payday. Banks like JPMorgan will even come out on high, milking these underwriting charges. Wall Street, ugh, at all times finds a method (to earn cash).

• Liquidity Path by way of Silver Lake: However, what I believe is basically taking place right here is that Silver Lake can quietly re-list their stake in a number of years, protecting the Saudis in management whereas nonetheless giving themselves an exit. Trojan horse.

• EA’s enterprise mannequin is 75% stay companies. That means recurring income, which PE loves because it smooths out money move modelling (simpler debt servicing).

However, that debt is a MOUNTAIN, which brings us to …

• $20B in debt is a ticking time bomb. While EA’s money move ($2 billion to $2.5 billion) can actually contribute to serving this debt, $20 billion in junk-rated (single-B) debt is a looming shadow. And in LBO land, this sort of debt usually means ‘’efficiencies’’, which is PR spin for mass layoffs and cuts.

• Expect layoffs, departures, and cuts: Probably deep ones. Many of the cuts will occur exterior of the money-making sports activities video games (however nothing can be secure from the effectivity cuts). Anything non-service or slow-building can be on the chopping block first. There will even be expertise who willingly leaves – particularly creatives who disagree essentially with Saudi Arabia’s alleged human rights violations.

• IP gross sales and studio divestitures are on the desk. Many of the cost-cutters will ask themselves, “Why keep a $200 million RPG team when FIFA cards print cash?’’ Single-player studios like BioWare (Mass Effect) and Motive (Iron Man) are in most trouble. BioWare was arguably already in management’s crosshairs before this buyout. Add the studio’s LGBTQI+-friendly nature and its themes on human rights into the mix, and this could spell trouble.

While this won’t be the bloodbath that was Toys “R” Us…, the identical playbook applies. LBOs at all times begin with “efficiencies”, however additionally they at all times finish with org charts stuffed with pink strains.

Looking at this deal as a typical strip-and-flip PE operation misses the purpose. A significant a part of this deal is Saudi statecraft by way of cultural consolidation. While Silver Lake is the face, PIF’s hand is on the steering wheel.

They already personal sizable chunks of Nintendo, Capcom, Take-Two, Embracer, Scopely, Niantic, ESL FACEIT, a number of soccer golf equipment, LIV Golf, and now they’ve captured the world’s most culturally influential sports activities IP manufacturing facility.

We already talked about the human-rights dialog. Saudi Arabia needs to reshape international notion round its human-rights points and to set itself up for the long run because the world strikes away from oil long run. It’s doing this via the world’s most accessible cultural medium: video video games, and EA is a part of that.

This deal was additionally controversially brokered via Jared Kushner (Donald Trump’s son-in-law), whose agency is funded with $2 billion from PIF regardless of some inner objections.

The U.S. Senate has already raised issues about conflicts of curiosity and overseas affect. Now Kushner’s positioned to revenue from considered one of America’s largest soft-power exports.

So that’s the nice, unhealthy, and ugly of this buyout. But there are nonetheless numerous what-ifs:

• Will Saudi affect creep into EA FC, Battlefield, or The Sims? And will The Sims and Mass Effect – franchises constructed on range – keep untouched?

• Will LGBTQ+ content material on the whole be quietly toned down?

• Will beloved studios be preserved – or politically repurposed?

The jury could be very a lot nonetheless out. But one factor is for certain: this buyout is unprecedented. It’s not simply one other PE flip, and this story will proceed to develop. Want to be taught extra as we get extra data? Hit subscribe beneath for our ongoing take.

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