XBLA hits ‘record $144 million in revenue for 2011’

Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade hit a record $144 million in revenue for 2011, according to an analyst firm.

The XBLA service also saw an 18 per cent increase in title growth, claimed market research firm Forecasting and Analysing Digital Entertainment.

It said that revenues were led by more than 308,000 sales of Ubisoft’s From Dust, and 335,000 downloads of Behemoth’s Castle Crashers.

Both titles reportedly made around $4.6 million in revenue each.

The analyst firm puts the record year for the digital service down to Microsoft’s ‘Summer of Arcade’ catalogue, with seven of the top ten highest grossing games released during the promotion period.

The top ten titles, which also included Micrsoft’s own Full House Poker, Fruit Ninja Kinect and Trials, made an estimated $36.7 million between them.