Welcome back to the Fancensus Spotlight, the number one place on Linkedin for professionals who want to understand how video games compete for attention in this modern market. Cultivating the attention and adoration of gamers becomes harder every year as publishers compete and flood the market with options. The mid‑January data shows a market in full “value hunt” mode on console deals pages, while Arknights: Endfield turns meticulous pre‑launch planning into one of the strongest hype builds of the year so far.
Console Discoverability – Deals Section Only - All Titles
On Xbox, the deals section was dominated by a blend of late‑cycle live service titles and big‑name DLC, all tightly tied to themed sale events. Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows shared the top spot with 100% Flare each, pushed by the “Beyond Countdown” sale: Battle for Brooklyn and Claws of Awaji DLCs both held prime deals‑page banner slots with 40% and 30% discounts, respectively. EA Sports College Football 26 sat just behind at 98% thanks to a massive 70% discount as part of “EA SPORTS WEEK,” securing its own high‑impact banner placements. EA Sports F1 25 also rode the EA SPORTS WEEK wave, albeit with fewer solo tiles than College Football 26, while Star Trek Online rounded out the Xbox top five on 87%, boosted by “Beyond Countdown” promotion of its in‑game currency at 25% off.
On PlayStation, racing and live service again set the tone, but with a more diverse cast. Forza Horizon 5 led with 100% Flare score, with the Deluxe Edition enjoying 40% discounts and main deals‑banner exposure, including some sponsored slots. EA Sports F1 25 appeared on both platforms’ top lists; on PS5, its Iconic Edition was discounted by 50% and featured in banners with Lewis Hamilton front and centre, helping it to a 47% Flare score. Madden NFL 26’s Deluxe Edition enjoyed a hefty 60% discount alongside major deals‑page banners, landing it at 34% Flare Score. Call of the Wild: The Angler and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 tied on 33% Flare Score: the former leveraged a PS Plus–exclusive 70% discount. The latter saw its Deluxe Edition promoted via main deals‑page banners at 20% off, evidence that even a GOTY winner still benefits from strategic price cuts and visibility long after the awards show buzz fades.
Press & Social Flare – Upcoming Products (Next 30 Days)
In fifth place, Reanimal, due 13th February, has been building a steady base through demo access across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, and last week’s new Switch 2 demo broadened reach just one month from launch. A newly announced “friend pass” letting owners invite non‑owners into co‑op play serves as both a goodwill gesture and a viral mechanic, supported by an official overview trailer that clearly lays out the pitch. In fourth, 2XKO fully launched on 20th January, with Riot adding a new roster member, Caitlyn, plus extra content, modes, stages, and cosmetics. The Caitlyn reveal trailer pulled in over 200k views on YouTube and more than 500k on TikTok, reinforcing how character‑driven fighting games lean on short, high‑impact clips.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties lands third place, launching 12th February, capitalises on both nostalgia and fresh story content, with the remake incorporating a new storyline exploring antagonist Yoshitaka Mine’s backstory. Activity peaked on 16th January as major media outlets and influencers dropped hands‑on impressions, and the title topped Facebook Flare thanks to an RGG Studio video of a Baka Mitai karaoke rendition from Dark Ties that reached roughly 440k views and 5.8k reactions. Holding strong in second place for the second week running is Code Vein II, expected on 30th January. Anticipation has snowballed week-on-week via multiple new trailers. An overview trailer plus a character‑focused piece on Zenon Gryfgote alongside X posts from the main brand account showing comic strips, character customisation snippets, and character trailers. A character‑creation demo arriving 23rd January, a week before launch, gives players time to invest in their avatars ahead of release, nudging commitment further.
All of that sets the stage for our top performer, Arknights: Endfield.
Spotlight title: Arknights: Endfield
With release set for 22nd January, Gryphline's Arknights: Endfield is a textbook case of pre‑launch hype done with deliberate, layered planning. The headline number is striking on its own: last week’s announcement revealed 35 million pre‑registrations already in place, a figure widely discussed across the press and used as shorthand for the scale of its day‑one potential. That news landed alongside a coordinated burst of new assets, including multiple character‑specific combat overview trailers, the New Horizons story overview, and a cinematic launch trailer, all timed to keep both existing Arknights fans and curious onlookers engaged. A dedicated launch livestream scheduled for 16th January rounded out the media plan, providing a central event around which coverage and co‑streams could cluster.
On social platforms, the campaign has clearly been engineered for high repeat exposure. The New Horizons trailer alone surpassed 10 million views on TikTok. The official release trailer cleared 8 million, and each individual combat operator trailer hit at least the 1 million‑view mark ensuring multiple entry points for casual scrollers. On YouTube, the standout was “The Five: Sparks that Shatter the Darkness” trailer on the official Arknights: Endfield channel, which amassed over 1.6 million views and served as a focal point for lore speculation and mechanical breakdowns. The launch livestream drew around 600k views on YouTube and restreams on Twitch were numerous enough to push Arknights: Endfield to second on the platform for the week, just behind 2XKO. Meanwhile, on Facebook and X, PlayStation‑run mini‑trailers delivered the best reach, demonstrating how platform holder amplification can meaningfully extend the footprint of even a very strong campaign. The net effect is clear: by combining hard numbers (pre‑regs), repeatable trailer hooks, and multi‑platform events, Arknights: Endfield has turned pre‑launch into a sustained presence rather than a one‑off spike.
This week’s data is a sharp reminder that discounts and deals are only half the story: The Division 2, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, and Forza Horizon 5 all benefit from well‑crafted sales slots. On the other hand, Arknights: Endfield, Code Vein II, and Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties show how deliberate pre‑launch sequencing, demos, character trailers, livestreams, and playful social beats, translate into durable attention rather than brief bursts. For teams planning the next 30–90 days, treating pre‑launch as a designed journey rather than a single announcement can be the difference between “on sale” and “unmissable.”
