On behalf of the video game industry, I'd like to congratulate Star Wars - for accomplishing what Fallout 4 did in one day.
That's right - Bethesda's post-apocalyptic hit generated more than $750 million in its first 24 hours on the market. The Force Awakens took 20 days to achieve the same feat.
Earlier this month, The Force Awakens launched to the top of the movie industry. Sales from Disney's space epic surpassed the previous record of $760 million held by the 2009 blockbuster Avatar, cementing The Force Awakens as the highest grossing movie in U.S. history.
Yet, amid all the well-deserved fanfare around Rey and Finn, few outside of the video game community recognized how monumental the last few months were for our industry. Between strong sales, groundbreaking gameplay, and critical acclaim, video games once again topped the entertainment mountain. Here is a quick look at how the end of 2015 shaped up for the game industry:
Fallout 4: In addition to reaching three-quarters of a billion dollars in 24 hours, Bethesda's post-apocalyptic hit became the number one game played on Steam, surpassing the previous record for concurrent play with more than 470,000 players. Immediately upon its release, the companion app, Fallout Pip-Boy, became the number one game on the iTunes App Store. Fallout 4 also set the record as the most-viewed game launch of 2015 on Twitch and was nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2015.
Halo 5: Guardians: One week after launching worldwide, Halo 5: Guardians made history as the biggest Halo launch and fastest-selling Xbox One-exclusive game, with more than $400 million in global sales. The latest entry of the Master Chief saga pushed total Halo franchise sales to more than $5 billion. Halo 5 was also critically acclaimed, earning nominations for Best Multiplayer, Best FPS, and Best Score/Soundtrack at The Game Awards.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3: Before Fallout hit the shelves, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 owned the top spot as the biggest entertainment launch of 2015. The Activision-Blizzard game generated more than $550 million in worldwide sales in its first 72 hours, and was the number one selling game in 2015. Black Ops 3 is on track to be the sixth consecutive Call of Duty game to break the $1 billion mark.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: The latest installment in this popular series sold 4 million copies in the first two weeks after its release, and more than 6 million copies in the first six weeks. It was nominated for and won multiple game of the year and best storytelling awards, earning accolades for its immersive and expansive game environment. With 30,000 lines of dialogue, 36 alternate endings, and an 84-square-mile virtual world, The Witcher 3 offers one of the most extensive gameplay experiences available.
2016 holds even more in store for our industry, with creative indies, huge blockbusters, emerging virtual and augmented reality technologies, and promises of the biggest E3 yet pushing games to new and exciting frontiers. Next time someone gushes about BB8, Rey's quirky droid sidekick, don't forget to remind them about Fallout 4 player companion Dogmeat - and all of the entertainment milestones games are barreling past.