Sales of definitive editions of games surge 150% in June

How long should publishers wait before rereleasing their games? Ten years is a bit long, and five years seems too quick. Except these days, game makers are rereleasing their games after just one or two years, and that strategy is working, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group.

“Full-game software sales performance is being significantly impacted by the growth in sales of re-releases of existing games,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “Sales of these versions of released games, most often referred to as ‘GOTY/Complete/Remastered/Definitive/Legendary/Anniversary’ editions, have experienced sales growth of more than 150 percent in 2018 when compared to a year ago, while sales of launch day versions of games, most often called ‘Standard/Base/Collector’s/Limited/Special’ editions are down slightly.”