European Video Game Sales Experience Uptick in July Despite Lack of Notable Releases

The European video game market witnessed a notable increase in sales during July, with 2.4 million units sold, representing a 3.4% rise compared to the same period last year. A closer examination of the top ten best-selling games reveals that Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, released this year, secured the ninth position, while all other titles were released prior to 2024, including the top-selling game, EA Sports FC 24. The success of EA Sports FC 24 at the top of the charts is hardly surprising, given the timing of the European Championships in July. Consequently, the game saw a 69% increase in sales compared to FIFA 23 in the previous year, which did not coincide with a major international football tournament. Several gaming promotions took place in July, leading to some unexpected entries in the charts. For instance, Hitman Absolution, initially released in 2012, was offered as a free game on Amazon Prime, resulting in its eighth-place position for the month. The highest-ranking new release was EA Sports College Football 25, which performed exceptionally well in the UK and debuted at number 39 in Europe. In terms of console hardware, 263,000 units were sold across selected markets, marking a significant 46% decline from the previous year. The PS5 led the market in July, despite experiencing a 56% drop in sales compared to the same period last year. The Nintendo Switch secured the second position, with a 29% year-over-year decline, while the Xbox Series family of consoles came in third, with a 42% decrease. Notably, there were no major console game releases in July. Regarding accessories, 1.08 million products were sold across selected markets, with the PS5 DualSense controller being the top-selling item by a substantial margin. Overall, accessory sales have decreased by nearly 20% compared to the same period last year. * Digital data is currently unavailable. The GSD digital data encompasses games from participating companies sold via Steam, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Eshop. Key participating companies include Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, Embracer Group, Focus Entertainment, Konami, Marvellous Games, Microids, Microsoft, Milestone, Nacon, Paradox Interactive, Quantic Dream, Sega, Sony, Square Enix, Take-Two, Tencent, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Notable absentees include Nintendo, 505 Games, and smaller studios. Digital data covers games sold in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. Physical data includes all games sold in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Console hardware sales cover Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, while accessories sales cover the same markets, excluding Switzerland.