Horizon Zero Dawn Reaches 3.4 Million In Digital Sales & Shipments
Horizon Zero Dawn has hit 3.4 million copies shipped and sold digitally. This makes the game Sony’s best selling new IP and the most successful game of developers Guerrilla Games. Of the 3.4 million units, 915.000 were digital purchases, meaning that more than two thirds of the sales were physical copies. The overwhelming success of Horizon Zero Dawn could be a game changer when it comes to publishing models of triple-A games.
During its first two weeks, Horizon Zero Dawn sold 2.6 million copies. The huge number seemingly took everyone by surprise, including Sony and Guerrilla Games. Over time, the game became Sony’s most lucrative new IP, and the hottest debut than any Guerrilla game (basically the Killzone series). Recently, the game reached the pretty impressive number of over 3.4 million units shipped and digitally sold, with physical sales constituting the majority of sales.
In a recent interview with with Glixel, Shawn Layden (PlayStation US boss) and Jim Ryan (PlayStation Europe boss) sat down and discussed the state of PlayStation and the plans for the future. Shawn Layden mentioned that the success of Horizon Zero Dawn could be a game changer in the gaming industry landscape. He said:
Of the 3.4 million copies of Horizon we sold, about 915,000 were digital. This kind of shift changes everything. It changes the publishing model, it allows smaller players to put out games, it affects DLC and it has a huge impact.
He stated that Sony will keep working with smaller, indie developers to get their games on the PlayStation store. Layden also spoke about how PlayStation fans still love games with huge narratives in the age of publishers seeing games as a service where players are expected to make their own fun. He recognized this as one of Sony’s fortes:
That’s what we do well. We’d hate to force a mechanic on something. Can you have online arena tournament play? Well…only if it needs it.
Here’s to the success of Horizon Zero Dawn and its continuing life cycle. Hopefully, it really will change the current gaming landscape for the better.
