Sensor Tower: PC and PlayStation unit sales in Japan rise 13% to 21m during H1 2026, led by Resident Evil Requiem

PC and PlayStation unit sales increased 13% to 21 million in Japan during the first half of 2026, led by Resident Evil Requiem.

That’s according to Sensor Tower’s latest Japan Game Market Insights report, which found that Capcom was the top PC and PlayStation publisher by units sold. Sensor Tower’s Japan data covers Steam and PlayStation only.

Resident Evil Requiem had its strongest first-month performance on Steam, having sold an estimated 2.6 million units.

“The result underscores Steam’s growing importance to premium Japanese games, giving Capcom immediate access to a large global audience while extending the series beyond its traditional console strength,” said Sensor Tower.

It also attributed this success to strong launch engagement, noting that Steam players averaged 25 hours of playtime, which is the highest among comparable titles in the franchise.

“A Steam page established 264 days before release provided a long runway for awareness and wishlists, while broad participation across the United States, China, Japan, Europe, and other markets helped turn anticipation into sustained play,” noted Sensor Tower.

Requiem surpassed eight million units in July, and boosted Capcom’s latest financial results alongside Pragmata. Capcom also reported “ongoing sales growth” from Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 2.

Mobile in-app purchase revenue declined 5.1% year-on-year to ¥1.56 trillion ($10 billion) with downloads also falling 5.4% to 585 million. However, Japan retained its position as Asia’s second-largest mobile gaming market.

The country generated twice as much IAP revenue than South Korea, and almost four times more than Taiwan Japan also generated 65% of IAP revenue compared to 35% from overseas

Japan-based publishers accounted for 28% of mobile game downloads in Q2 2026. Sensor Tower noted that while its “share has stabilised since late 2026, [it] remains below the 32% recorded a year earlier as overseas publishers collectively expand their reach among Japanese gamers.”

Gaming accumulated $749.7 million in ad spend and 208 billion impressions in the first half of the year, and ranked third among Japan’s top advertising categories.

eFootball was Japan’s highest-grossing mobile game from January to July 2026, followed by Monster Strike, Last War: Survival, and Whiteout Survival.

Sensor Tower attributed eFootball’s success to Konami sustaining “momentum from April through July by aligning football-themed content with heightened World Cup interest.” Dragon Quest Smash/Grow was Japan’s top action RPG in IAP and revenue during the same period.

As for genre, RPGs captured nearly one-third of mobile IAP revenue (32.8%) and Strategy accounted for 23.8%, while Puzzle games drove the highest share of downloads (37.8%).