VentureBeat has published a new report citing a retailing source that states that the only game that is actually meeting pre-order forecasts for the Holiday season right now is Rockstar’s upcoming Red Dead Redemption 2. Battlefield 5 isn’t the only game that is seeing weaker than expected pre-orders, according to this report- so are games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Battlefield 5, for its part, is already tracking better than Titanfall 2 was back in 2016.
It is unclear whether or not this includes first party games too- to me it seems inconceivable that Spider-Man and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would be underperforming, especially when by all early accounts, they seem poised to break out, but it is entirely possible this report was only referencing major third party releases.
As far as Battlefield goes, VentureBeat’s report says that EA has a plan to revive the game if sales after the first month or so are not up to expectations, including an aggressive update schedule, the battle royale mode, and a “surprise for long-term fans” that may even be offered as free DLC (to be fair, DICE promised all DLC for the game would be free). So let’s see how that goes.
Battlefield 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will all launch this October. Spider-Man launches in September, while Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches this December.
