Shooters Dominate as Pokémon Legends: Z-A Underperforms
▼ Summary
– Battlefield 6 topped October’s revenue charts and ranked third in monthly active users despite only being available for one week.
– Call of Duty games ranked second in monthly active users and ninth in revenue, with their full-month performance making them a key comparison for Battlefield in November.
– New extraction shooter Arc Raiders debuted at No. 7 in revenue and No. 18 in monthly active users, but its limited October release period may affect these figures.
– Pokémon Legends: Z-A placed fifth in revenue and fifteenth in monthly active users, selling 5.8 million copies in its opening week but underperforming compared to its predecessor.
– Established live service games like Fortnite, Counter-Strike 2, and Roblox maintained strong positions, highlighting the challenge for new titles to compete with these giants.
Recent gaming data from Newzoo highlights a clear trend: shooter games are dominating both revenue and player engagement across major Western markets. The October 2025 performance charts for PC and console titles in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain reveal that first-person shooters occupy a significant number of spots in the top twenty rankings for both monthly earnings and active users.
Leading the revenue chart was Battlefield 6, a remarkable achievement considering it was only available for the final week of October. It also secured the third position for monthly active users. The collective suite of Call of Duty titles, while placing ninth in revenue, climbed to second place in terms of active users. Analysts note that comparing user numbers provides a fairer assessment for Call of Duty, especially given its inclusion in the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. The upcoming November data will offer a more definitive look at the head-to-head competition between these titans as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 enters the fray.
Another new shooter, the extraction-based Arc Raiders, made a notable debut at number seven in revenue, even though it was only on the market for two days during the reporting period. Its position on the active users chart was eighteenth, a figure also expected to shift significantly with a full month of availability.
These new releases joined a host of established live-service giants. Fortnite maintained a powerful presence, ranking third in revenue and first in active users. Counter-Strike 2, Grand Theft Auto V, Helldivers 2, Borderlands 4, Apex Legends, and Overwatch all featured prominently on the lists. This consistent performance from a core group of titles demonstrates the immense challenge new games face in capturing a substantial share of player time and spending.
In the realm of monster-collecting RPGs, a minor showdown occurred. Pokémon Legends: Z-A debuted at number five in revenue and fifteenth in active users, comfortably outperforming its rival, Digimon Story Time Stranger. However, industry observers noted that Z-A’s performance did not meet the benchmark set by its predecessor, Pokémon Legends: Arceus. This has sparked discussion about whether players are hesitant about the series’ shift to a real-time, action-oriented combat system or are exercising caution following the technical issues that plagued the launch of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
It is important to note that Pokémon Legends: Z-A launched as a cross-generation title, available on both the Nintendo Switch and the newer Switch 2. Official sales figures from Nintendo confirm the game sold 5.8 million copies globally in its first week, with approximately half of those purchases made for the Switch 2. This makes it the franchise’s fifth best-selling game in terms of opening week sales, outperforming titles like Pokémon X/Y and Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, though it fell short of the first-week numbers achieved by Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and Pokémon Sword/Shield. Critical reception was positive, with one major outlet awarding it an 8/10 score and praising its engaging world, well-crafted narrative, and successful combat overhaul.
(Source: IGN)
