Industry analysts have reported that the next entry in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops 4, will outsell both of its October release rivals Battlefield V and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Gamers will be spoilt for choice in the final quarter of 2018, with a plethora of triple AAA titles releasing over September through December, with October the busiest month.
Treyarch developed Black Ops 4 breaks the cycle of Call of Duty releases coming in early November, shifting forward to October 12 – before the release of the much anticipated Rockstar title Red Dead Redemption 2.
And DICE’s Battlefield V will also release right in the middle of these two juggernauts, clearly not intimidated by the hectic gaming calendar.
But according to analyst group Michael J. Olson and Yung Kim, Black Ops 4 will come out on top when it is all said and done, perhaps taking the advantage of the earliest release date of the three.
The estimated average sales for Black Ops 4 is 21.5 million at launch, while Battlefield is expected to ship 16 million and Red Dead Redemption narrowly behind at 15.5 million.
The majority of EA’s releases are sports games, with the exception being Battlefield V and Anthem (2019).
For Take Two Interactive, Rockstar’s long awaited Red Dead Redemption sequel will be their main focus.
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Despite the bad reception the ‘Black Ops Pass’ had with Call of Duty fans, it isn’t expected to hurt the sales of what is by far the series most successful sub-franchise.
Judging by past Black Ops titles, the fourth instalment will be another impressive launch for Activision, bolstered by the addition of a battle royale mode ‘Blackout’.
Battlefield V is also shipping with a BR mode, although little details have been released at this time. One key difference between the two is that Battlefield will have free DLC, while Black Ops will require players to purchase the pass to access future DLC.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is also at a disadvantage being console only upon release, with a PC version not yet announced, whereas both Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V will be available on both console and PC at launch.
Of course, these figures are merely projections, and a lot can change in a few months.
H/T: VGR