It's released: an original free-to-play game in the form of original IP Haunted Hollow; a branded but original free-to-play game in the shape of Sid Meier's Ace Patrol; and now an expensive (in App Store terms) port of a PC/console game with XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
Of course, whether XCOM: Enemy Unknown should be considered "expensive" is something that has plenty of people talking.
On one hand, $19.99 is top-end for an iOS game' although it doesn't also include in-app purchases.
On the other, this is a port of a PC-console game that retailed at $40 when it was first released, even if you can now get it for around $20 secondhand.
(It's still $50 if you want to get it via the Mac Store though.)
Rising fast
Such questions aside, what's more interesting to see is how XCOM: Enemy Unknown - a universal build - is performing.
Only released on Thursday (20th June), it's nevertheless boomed into the top grossing game charts, hitting #4 for iPad in the US, and #11 on iPhone.
Perhaps as expected, however, these were day one peaks, with the game now starting a slow decline.
XCOM's top grossing chart performance on iPhone in the US - via App Annie
Still, 2K can point out that the only better ranked paid games in the US top grossing charts are perennials like Minecraft and a brand - SpongeBob Moves In, although the latter is only higher on iPhone.
Indeed, as we might expect, XCOM is doing significantly better on iPad, where its price sits more sensibly in terms of device audience and the gameplay experience within a physical larger screen.
Core markets
Something else worth looking at is the geographical spread of its success.
It's currently ranked higher in Germany than the US in terms of iPad top grossing, with the UK, Canada and France not far behind (in terms of rank).
German and US top grossing performance on iPad - via App Annie
Indeed, northern Europe has been a happy hunting ground, with the game peaking with a #1 ranking in Estonia, Latvia and Belarus, and #2 in Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia.
In total, XCOM has been a top 10 top grossing game in 55 countries; not bad going considering it's a straight port of a game that's been out for nine months.
And that's certainly providing a nice spurt of revenue for 2K, while proving it can push the price for well-loved and critically-acclaimed content on iOS. We'll see how well it rides the downwards price spiral; no doubt it's a game that will get its fair share of sale opportunities.
Compare, contrast
Still, the company might have learned more from the - in this context - relative failures of Haunted Hollow and Sid Meier's Ace Patrol.
Apptrace graph of Haunted Hollow's performance on US iPad free chart
Apptrace graph of Ace Patrol's performance on US iPad free chart
Both are interesting games that despite being free-to-play have failed to find any audiences whatsoever.
