"Gears of War 4" launched in early October for the Xbox One and Windows PC, and it is one of the first games that utilizes Microsoft's new Xbox Play Anywhere system. The game was available via physical retail stores and on the digital market, and now, the final tally of sales in its first week out has been revealed.
According to VG Chartz (via Major League Gaming), the game has gone on to sell over 617,000 copies in its first week. This has allowed it to sell well over its competitors that launched around the same time period such as the PS4 port of "Rise fo the Tomb Raider" and "WWE 2K17."
However, the game's sales still lag behind the success of other entries in the franchise. The video from Major League Gaming reveals that "Gears of War 2," "Gears of War 3," and "Gears of War: Judgement" have sold more copies throughout their run.
Given that the sales numbers are only from the first week of its launch, this is possibly going to change. "Gears of War 4" received critical acclaim upon release, despite it taking place 25 years after the third game and now focusing on a whole new cast of characters. "Gears of War 4" is expected to break over 1 Million sales before the end of the year.
According to Win Beta, the game had far surpassed the expected number of sales that the developers and publishers were aiming for.
"Rise of the Tomb Raider," another game that launched for the Xbox One last year, sold below average for the console, but sales tripled when it was launched for the PC and also saw a higher number of sales when it released for the PS4.
Fans speculate that this may be one reason why the sales for "Gears of War 4" were not as high as usual. This would add on the fact that it is a soft reboot of the franchise, involving a new story, new villains and new heroes.
