Recent Game Remakes Were More Successful Than Remasters, With One Big Exception
Video game remakes and remasters have attracted impressive player numbers and generated substantial consumer spending, research shows, although full-on remakes may have a slight edge.
Research firm Ampere Analysis tracked data from January 2024 to September 2025, looking at 42 re-releases (specifically, 15 remakes and 27 remasters). These releases accumulated 72.4 million players across Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam, with consumers spending $1.4 billion from purchasing these games and related in-game monetisation.
Overall, the average remake produced 2.2 times the amount of consumer spending as remasters did during that time frame. For instance, while the Gears of War: Reloaded remaster had a similar peak monthly active user count as the Silent Hill 2 remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the latter two titles far surpassed Gears of War in consumer spending.
