Report: Wolfenstein II And The Evil Within 2 Aren’t Doing So Hot In Sales

Bethesda has been killing it with single player oriented games this holiday season, between ports of Skyrim and Doom on the Nintendo Switch, and The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus scoring well with fans. That said, the latter two of those offerings may not be selling as good as the company expected.

This report from GamesBeat indicates that neither the Wolfenstein or The Evil Within sequels managed to crack the top ten best selling games in the U.S. for the month of October, despite being highly advertised and getting good word-of-mouth since E3.

The NPD Group reports that the games placed number 14 and 13, respectively, on the best-selling games charts, below the likes of Forza Motorsport 7, Gran Turismo Sport and Grand Theft Auto V.

But there are a few things to consider here. Number one, Wolfenstein II released near the end of the month, and went head-to-head against both Super Mario Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Origins, two games in extremely popular franchises.

Number two, when Bethesda reports its sales numbers, it doesn’t include digital sales, according to the author of the article. That means that both of those games’ numbers are only accounting for physical sales, and digital plays such a big part in the U.S. market these days, that to not have it in consideration for sales is kind of foolish.

Some industry folks have been concerned with how single player games are handling in today’s market, with some making rash decisions to go with more multiplayer-oriented games. But Bethesda is continuing to trek on its merry little path, and doesn’t seem to be changing its business plan anytime soon.

Plus, both Wolfenstein II and The Evil Within 2 are taking their part in holiday sales next week, with a number of retailers offering both games for anywhere between $25-$30, well below their usual asking price. That means a lot of interested fans will pick them up and boost Bethesda’s sales numbers for both games – so there probably isn’t too much cause for concern just yet. However, December’s sales numbers, when they come up in January, could tell a different story.

For now, the company continues to promote both of those titles, along with Skyrim and Doom, as it prepares for a very busy holiday season.

Both Wolfenstein II and The Evil Within 2 are available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Wolfenstein will also release for Nintendo Switch early next year.