Over 60% of Capcom’s Digital Game Sales in 2024 Were on PC
Capcom, the Japanese video game titan, announced in its fiscal 2024 earnings report that over 60% of digital game sales came from PC. This is an important milestone for a company that also has a long history of developing console games. It has partnered with platforms such as PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo, and provides valuable insight about the shifting dynamics of the global video game industry, especially as publishers transition to digital distribution and wider platform focus.
Founded in 1979, Capcom is probably best known for big franchises including Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, and Devil May Cry. For decades, Capcom’s release strategy and major titles were generally designed first as console games. For the past ten years, however, the PC video game ecosystem has grown exponentially, generally created with wider accessibility by digital storefronts, such as Steam and Epic Games Store, high-quality accessible hardware, and increasing rates of global internet income. In Japan, Capcom’s home market, PC has always been weaker than consoles, as cultural preferences for consoles, as well as previously high limitations on hardware, created fewer PC gamers in Japan than in the Americas or Europe.
However, there have been trends reversing this trajectory in Japan, especially with the worldwide sales success of games such as Monster Hunter: World, which did very well on PC, and Resident Evil Village, which performed similarly across all platforms. The information is a combination of reports based on Capcom’s consolidated financial statements, and they were consistent with reports from publisher industry websites (i.e., GamesIndustry.biz, IGN, VGC [Video Games Chronicle]). Capcom also credited it’d growth in profit margin with PC gaming, especially with fewer platform fees and sales via digital storefronts accessing consumers directly. While the growth in PC sales is important, it should be understood in context of trends in the industry as a whole. While COVID-19 accelerated the growth trend to digital sales, consumers will increasingly be influenced in their purchases and overall gaming experiences, by the combination of consumer comfort with digital sales and sales platforms providing flexible pricing, modding support, and sales stop discounts (i.e., Steam). That said, you need to be careful with the 60 %+ figure.
The data may be based on Capcom’s overall sales patterns, but possibly not reflect geographic trends. For example, PC gaming still has a minimal market share in Japan compared to the West. In addition, the overall increased profit margin reported by Capcom might just beginning of a few PC-optimized titles they release, rather than implement a long-term redesign strategy for their titles. Capcom is not the only publisher making this transition. In the last couple of years, other major publishers like EA, Ubisoft, and Square Enix have had increasing revenues from PC products. For example, Sony began releasing some of their previously console-only games, such as God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn, on PC This was inconceivable about a decade ago. Microsoft, a console, has also embraced a “platform agnostic” approach by releasing all of its first-party games on PC and Xbox at the same time.
According to Steam’s 2024 Year in Review, third-party AAA title sales were up 35% from 2023, and Japanese publishers have contributed a greater share of the growth. The success of Street Fighter 6 and the Resident Evil 4 remake, both optimized for PC, also supports this trend. Capcom shared that over 60% of its digital game sales were from PC in the last year. This is a momentous point for the video game industry. This not only marks a corporate strategy shift, but a major paradigm shift in how players will engage with video games. Consoles will continue to play a large role, but the rapid ascendence of PC sales as a dominant sales platform will give rise to the predicted democratization of video gaming, where accessibility, flexibility, and global distribution are paramount.
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