Downloadable sales jump 8% during January 2016

After a great year of software sales in 2015, we may be in for an even better year in 2016. At least, if January’s 8% increase in digital sales means anything.

Sales for downloadable titles to consoles, PC, and mobile grew over last year according to SuperData Research, even in spite of a big dip in console sales (8% compared to January 2015).

Downloads for PC titles saw a whopping 33% increase, with the most recent Tomb Raider contributing heavily to that number — far outpacing what the game sold on Xbox during December.

StarCraft II and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive were atop the bestsellers for January PC downloads, but GTA 5 and Fallout 4 were also big sellers, particularly in the when it came to downloadable content.

In addition, digital console sales increased 30%. Call of Duty: Black Ops III and FIFA 16 were the biggest drivers of the rise in revenue, with the most recent FIFA entry benefiting heavily from add-on content (88%).

While the revenue from hardware sales hasn’t been as strong this year, it’s great that software sales appear to have kept up during this first month of 2016. Hardware sales should pick up, especially as big titles release over the course of the year.