Hogwarts Legacy Tops UK Boxed Charts

The year 2023 has come to a close, with Hogwarts Legacy emerging as the best-selling physical video game in the UK. EA Sports FC 24, the latest installment in the football series, was unable to surpass Warner Bros' Harry Potter spin-off in terms of sales. Hogwarts Legacy was released in February for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series S and X, while EA's football title debuted in September. This marks the first time in a decade that EA's football game, previously licensed under FIFA, has not taken the top spot in the UK's boxed game charts. The last time this occurred was in 2013, when Grand Theft Auto 5 claimed the number one position. Notably, this is the first year that EA's football game has been released under its own branding, rather than the FIFA IP, in 30 years. This change comes after Electronic Arts and the football governing body failed to agree on new terms. Although EA Sports FC 24's sales have declined compared to recent FIFA titles, it remains a highly successful game and is expected to still be the overall number one when digital data is released later this week. The majority of Hogwarts Legacy's boxed sales came from the PS5 version, which accounted for over half of the game's total sales for the year. The PS4 version was the second-best-selling platform, followed by the Nintendo Switch. The PS4 version was released in May, while the Nintendo Switch edition arrived in November. According to GfK, a total of 12.76 million boxed video games were sold in the UK in 2023, representing a decline of nearly 5% compared to 2022. For more information on the 2023 market, including hardware performance and digital game sales, stay tuned to GamesIndustry.biz. Hogwarts Legacy also claimed the top spot in the final weekly chart of 2023, according to GfK data. The game rose three places to number one despite a 33% week-on-week decline in sales. It surpassed Super Mario Bros Wonder, which held the number two position despite a 63% decline in sales week-on-week. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 rose one place to number three, despite a 61% decline in sales week-on-week. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe climbed to number four, with a 44% decline in sales week-on-week, while Spider-Man 2 remained in fifth place, with a 64% decline in sales week-on-week. EA Sports FC 24, on the other hand, fell five places to number six, following a 76% decline in sales. The GfK Boxed Top Ten for the week ending December 30, 2023, is as follows: