Slight Uptick in European Game Sales for December | Monthly European Charts

According to the latest data from GSD, a total of 26.6 million PC and console games were sold across Europe in December. When comparing the same period in 2022, sales saw a 3.6% increase, despite December 2022 being a five-week month. The data encompasses all physical game releases in major European markets, as well as digital game sales from most prominent publishers. EA Sports FC24 took the lead in December by a significant margin, although its sales were 11.5% lower compared to FIFA 23's performance in December 2022, likely due to the football World Cup that took place during that period. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 slipped to the second spot in its second month, with overall performance below that of previous Call of Duty releases. Nonetheless, it remains a top seller across Europe, surpassing Hogwarts Legacy, which experienced its largest sales month outside of its initial launch in February. Another noteworthy performer was Super Mario Bros Wonder, which saw a slight decline in sales compared to November but has consistently been a top seller since its launch in October. The new entry in the chart, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, debuted at number six. For context, its sales were roughly half of what Assassin's Creed Mirage, another major Q4 game from Ubisoft, achieved in October. The game's long-term success will depend on its future performance. In the hardware sector, 1.27 million consoles were sold across tracked European markets in December, marking a 16% increase over the same four-week period in 2022. This surge was driven by the PS5, which saw a 66% year-over-year sales growth. The Nintendo Switch secured the second spot, with sales down 7% compared to December 2022, while the Xbox Series S and X came in third, with sales plummeting over 19% year-over-year. Regarding accessories and other add-on products, 3.5 million units were sold across tracked markets in December, representing an 11% increase over the same period the previous year. *Digital data is currently unavailable. The GSD digital data includes 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, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Notable exceptions include Nintendo and 505 Games, alongside smaller studios. Digital data covers games sold in numerous European countries, including 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 encompasses all games sold in select European markets, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Console hardware sales are tracked in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, while accessories sales cover the same markets, excluding Switzerland.