More people are buying classic Command and Conquer RTS games than new releases

There has been a lot of negative talk lately about the current state of the videogame market. The most popular and played games are several years old, titles like Fortnite, Counter-Strike, Apex Legends, and other popular competitive and online games. Outside of a few exceptions, new games are struggling to find an audience, and as budgets increase dramatically, the risk for developers and publishers to launch something new is on the rise.

2

Looking at the best-selling games, new titles are few and far between. In Europe, half of the top 10 best-selling games for March 2024 were old Command & Conquer games. Throw in Grand Theft Auto 5, which continues to sell, and Ubisoft's aging Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege - old games are selling.

The best-selling title for the month was EA Sports FC 24 (the FIFA replacement), with Helldivers 2 in second place and Dragon's Dogma 2 in third place - the latter debuting in March. After that, five Command & Conquer games are on the list, which is impressive because the European data includes PCs, consoles, and digital data from storefronts like Steam, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and the Nintendo eShop.

So, what gives? Is there an RTS renaissance happening?

Well, kind of. In March, EA brought the Command & Conquer franchise to Steam alongside other classic PC games, which led to countless people snapping up these real-time strategy gems from the 1990s. EA also brought classic entries in the SimCity franchise to Steam in March.

It was enough to push high-profile releases like Rise of the Ronin for PlayStation 5 and Princes Peach: Showtime for Nintendo Switch out of the top 10. WWE 2K24's debut in the number 12 spot also got crushed by twenty-year-old Command & Conquer games.

Here's the European GSD March 2024 Top 10 (Digital + Physical) sales chart for videogames.

1. EA Sports FC 24 (EA)
2. Helldivers 2 (Sony)
3. Dragon's Dogma 2 (Capcom)
4. Command & Conquer: Generals (EA)
5. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft)
6. Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
7. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (EA)
8. Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (EA)
9. Command & Conquer: Renegade (EA)
10. Command & Conquer: Red Alert (EA)

Even though the list reads like the year 2000 guide to videogames, 15.9 million console and PC games were sold throughout Europe, a 35% increase over the same period last year.