Revealed: Skylanders’ secret success

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure was a bigger hit than you might think.

Activision’s new kids IP – which lets consumers buy character figurines and bring them to life in the game – just about crept into last year’s Top 50 chart at No. 48. But, if you add in the various character packs available to buy at Tesco, Toys ‘R’ Us and most major games retailers, the title would have been the eighth biggest seller of the entire year.

That’s ahead of big sellers such as Saints Row: The Third and L.A. Noire.

Although Chart-Track doesn’t publish a revenue chart, the stat tracker revealed to MCV the title was the 13th highest cash generative game of 2011.

Skylanders was one of the top toys in the US over Christmas, with sell-outs reported. Even in the UK, some popular figurines are in short supply. Activision hopes to remedy the problem with extra characters released this month.

There is also a free-to-play online social game available titled Skylanders Spyro’s Universe.