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Yesterday, internal documents in the Microsoft v. FTC case were leaked, revealing a large amount of information. Among the new information is sales data for the main franchises of Zenimax studios, including Bethesda, id Software and Machine Games.
Despite the fact that the data is not entirely recent – it dates back to 2020 – it can still be used to draw a conclusion about the success of their IP. In first place is the Fallout franchise, sales of which amounted to 55 million copies. In second place is The Elder Scrolls, whose sales reached 54 million copies. However, sales of The Elder Scrolls Online are counted separately.
Sales of major franchises until 2020:
Fallout: 55 million The Elder Scrolls: 54 million The Elder Scrolls Online: 15 million Wolfenstein: 9 million Doom: 10 million Quake: less than 5 million The Evil Within: less than 5 million Prey: less than 5 million
If we talk about the company’s latest releases, Fallout 4 has sold 25 million copies, which is 45% of the franchise’s total sales. At the same time, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim sold more than 40 million copies, 74% of which were single-player games in the series.
As for future releases, Zenimax predicted that the next games in the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises will sell in the same numbers as the latest games. That being said, Starfield is expected to be as successful as Fallout.
Expectations for future games:
The Elder Scrolls VI: 40 million Fallout 5: 25 million Starfield: 25 million
Please be aware that this data is for 2020 and is likely out of date. Microsoft has since acquired Zenimax, which means sales projections could change significantly given that the games will be available on the Game Pass subscription service at launch.
