European Video Game Sales Experience 20% Surge in September

The European video game market witnessed a significant increase in sales, with 17.6 million PC and console games sold in the region last month, as per the latest GSD figures. This represents a substantial 20% rise compared to September 2023, making it a noteworthy month for the industry. EA Sports FC 25 secured the top position, although its launch was slightly softer than the previous year, with a 2% decline in sales over the first two weeks. However, the premium version of the game, which offered early access, saw a nearly 10% increase in sales compared to the previous year, indicating a strong overall performance for EA's latest football title. Ubisoft's The Crew 2 took the second spot, thanks to an aggressive promotional campaign that effectively made the game free, with users only needing to pay a €1 platform fee. As a result, the surprise hit of the month, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, settled for third place. The game has been a breakout success, becoming the third best-selling new game of 2024 in just a few weeks, surpassing titles like Dragon's Dogma 2, The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is now the fastest-selling Warhammer game, and after four weeks, it is on the cusp of becoming the best-selling Warhammer game of all time in Europe, eclipsing the sales of the Total War: Warhammer titles. PlayStation's Astro Bot also had a decent launch, with sales 34% higher than Sonic Frontiers in 2022 and 52% higher than Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time in 2020. The game's sales were also 7.5% higher than Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart's sales over a similar period in 2021, which was also a PS5 exclusive aimed at a slightly wider audience. NBA 2K25 debuted at No.6, with a marginally better opening than 2K24, with launch sales up 1%. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom entered the charts at No.8, with physical sales 15% lower than Link's Awakening remake in 2019. However, without digital sales data, it's challenging to determine the exact comparison, as downloading has increased significantly since 2019. The Top Ten was rounded off by the return of the Test Drive series, with Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown at No.10. Other notable releases included Microsoft's Age of Mythology Retold at No.12, God of War Regnarok at No.15, and Final Fantasy XVI at No.27, all of which arrived on PC last month. Harry Potter Quidditch Champions had a slow launch, debuting at No.28, while the remaster of Dead Rising came in at No.48, and a new version of Disney's Epic Mickey landed at No.83. In terms of hardware, 335,000 games consoles were sold across tracked markets, representing an 18% decline from September last year. The PS5 maintained its position as the leading console, despite sales dropping 17% year-over-year. The Nintendo Switch saw a 1.5% increase in sales, potentially boosted by the new Zelda Switch Lite console. The Xbox Series S and X remained in third place, with sales down 58% year-over-year, partly due to the release of Starfield in September 2023. Accessories sales totaled nearly 1.1 million items, a 2.4% decline from September last year. The PS5 DualSense controller led the way, potentially boosted by the new Astro Bot special edition variant. The GSD digital data includes games from participating companies sold via Steam, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Eshop. Major participating companies include Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Capcom, and many others. Digital data encompasses games sold in various European countries, while physical data includes all games sold in select European markets. Console hardware sales cover specific European markets, and accessories sales cover the same markets, excluding Switzerland.