There's no doubt that Red Dead Redemption 2 is poised to be one of the biggest games of the year, and in fact, its October release date has reportedly seen other companies push their titles to early 2019. However, even though Red Dead Redemption 2 will likely be a sales juggernaut, analyst firm Piper Jaffray estimates that it will be outsold by the likes of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V.

This is according to the firm's latest report that estimates just how much the biggest games of the year will sell. Considering the fact that Call of Duty games are typically the highest-selling games each year, it's no surprise that Black Ops 4 (estimated to sell 21.5 million units in calendar year 2018) will likely outsell Red Dead Redemption 2 (estimated to sell 15.5 million units by March 31, 2019). However, this doesn't mean that Black Ops 4 will outsell Red Dead Redemption 2 in terms of the games' lifetime sales total.

After all, Rockstar's previous game, Grand Theft Auto 5, is the most profitable entertainment product of all timeRed Dead Redemption 2 is not expected to match GTA 5's sales numbers, but the game will still likely have some long-term success, especially since it is Rockstar's first major, original game since 2013. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, meanwhile, will potentially have huge early numbers that will slow down over time.

red-dead-redemption-2-complete-official-guide

Of course, none of these sales numbers are set in stone, and are in fact just estimates from Piper Jaffray. It's worth mentioning that other groups have provided estimates that stand in contrast with Piper Jaffray's predictions, like the NPD Group, for instance. According to the NPD GroupRed Dead Redemption 2 will "edge out" Black Ops 4 to become the best-selling game of the year, with Battlefield VNBA 2K19, and Far Cry 5 filling out the rest of 2018's lineup of best-selling games.

At this point, it seems almost impossible to call which game will end up being the best-selling game of the year, as there are a number of factors that could influence whether Black Ops 4Red Dead Redemption 2, or another game comes out on top. Review scores could play a role, and Black Ops 4's lack of a campaign may not sit right with some of its diehard fans. It also remains to be seen if fans will be receptive to Black Ops 4's Blackout battle royale mode, which may fail to win over Fortnite's dedicated audience.

In the meantime, it's worth pointing out that Red Dead Redemption 2 is releasing with a sales disadvantage when compared to Black Ops 4 and many other games, as it's not going to be available on PC at launch. Some comments Rockstar and parent company Take-Two have made in the past have suggested that Red Dead Redemption 2 will one day make its way to PC, but it will likely be months or even years after it's available on PS4 and Xbox One. Whether or not Red Dead Redemption 2's lack of a PC release plays a significant role in its sales total remains to be seen, however.

Red Dead Redemption 2 will launch on October 26 for PS4 and Xbox One.

Source: WCCFTech