Datapoint of the Week is a recurring Game Developer series made possible by our sibling company and global research leader Omdia. 

Digital first-party stores on console have evolved to the point of offering several major promotional lines on a constant basis, providing an important discovery channel and lengthening the sales cycles of games. Our chart shows what share of each platform’s game catalogue was placed on discount, at the outset of 2021, in the US: 21% for PS4, 32% for Xbox One, 27% for Switch.

The accessibility of these opportunities can vary by manufacturer, but the role of discounting in generating long-term value for a publisher is now so key that some companies have dedicated portfolio managers to handle this task, while others attribute record quarterly results in part to intensive use of such opportunities.

For more data on the power and potential of console store discounts, head over to Omdia's full reporting here.