Beat Saber generated more revenue in 2021 than the next five biggest apps combined
Correction: The headline previously said, "five times more revenue" than the next top five apps. That was incorrect. It's more revenue than the next five biggest apps combined. The exact amounts are not known.
Update, August 31, 2022:
A new feature in the game gives an up-to-date indication of Beat Saber's sales figures: on August 27, a Twitter user noted that the Achievement "Pure" on Quest (2) has already been earned around 6.2 million times.
To unlock this achievement, all you have to do is complete a level of your choice without modifiers. Thus, it's safe to assume that most players earned this achievement right after purchasing Beat Saber.
The figure supports the thesis that the DLC in Beat Saber is predominantly the revenue driver. Last year alone, the manufacturer Beat Games took in almost $100 million. The main quest game, on the other hand, only came in at around 186 million US dollars with a total of 6.2 million sales - even though it has been available for three years.
Many sold expansions are a sign that Beat Saber is permanently played by many users, which is probably a rarity in the VR market.
A court document on Meta's ongoing FTC case regarding its acquisition of VR fitness apps confirms Beat Saber's VR gaming dominance: in 2021, Beat Saber's sales were higher than the sales of the next five largest apps combined.
Add to that sales for Playstation VR and PC VR, where Beat Saber is also one of the best-selling VR games and very likely the best-selling VR game. On Sony's VR platform alone, Beat Saber has topped the download charts almost consistently since its release.
Original article from 01 July 2022:
Beat Saber continues to prove to be a long-running hit. Last year, developer Beat Games took in nearly $100 million. The studio is owned by Meta.
Beat Saber's popularity continues unabated: Some VR users probably already use the name as a synonym for virtual reality. The recently published annual report of Meta's Beat Games studio also paints a very positive picture.
As reported by Chechcrunch magazine, the studio turned over a whopping 2.3 billion Czech crowns (CZK) last fiscal year. This corresponds to around 97 million dollars. This means that the turnover even leaves Czech manufacturers like Bohemia Interactive (1.12 billion CZK or around 54 million dollars) behind.
Beat Saber: Lush sales, moderate profit
Bohemia Interactive, however, had a higher after-tax profit to report, at CZK 616 million (about $26 million). Beat Games was only at CZK 70 million profit after tax (about $3 million) in this area. The difference could be because Bohemia Interactive distributes its games itself.
Meta, on the other hand, has driven Beat Saber's success through licensing agreements with numerous prominent artists. Big names like Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Fall Out Boy, Deadmau5 or Skrillex might have been expensive even for paid DLC music packs.
Co-founder Jaroslav Beck took to Twitter to thank the team and players for their continued support: "It's crazy that Beat Games has become the biggest games studio in the Czech Republic four years after its founding, with almost 65% growth over last year."
Meta's flagship studio Beat Games
Meta - then still Facebook - acquired Beat Games at the end of 2019. Shortly before that, in the spring of 2018, the creators of the VR game themselves had no idea how much potential there was in rhythmically cutting up glowing blocks. MIXED colleague Tomislav recently published a nostalgic look back at his encounter with developer Ján Ilavský when Beat Saber was little more than a successful demo.
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