UK Console Sales Surge 44% in September, Driven by Strong Demand for Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo

The UK video game market witnessed a significant uptick in sales, with 3.5 million games sold in September, marking a modest 1% increase from the previous year, according to GSD data. EA Sports FC 24 emerged as the top-selling game, with sales only 8% lower than its predecessor, FIFA 23. This decline was largely anticipated due to rebranding and the exceptionally strong launch of FIFA 23 last year. Despite this, EA's dominance in the football game genre is expected to persist, even without the FIFA IP. Xbox's Starfield secured the second spot, with sales narrowly trailing those of Forza Horizon 5, the fastest-selling first-party Xbox game of this generation. Notably, both games were available on the Game Pass subscription service, which affects the accuracy of sales figures. Two-thirds of Starfield's sales were on PC. Mortal Kombat 1 debuted at number three, with its first three weeks of sales down 24% compared to Mortal Kombat 11. Although Mortal Kombat has a UK audience, its popularity is generally stronger in North America. NBA 2K24 ranked fourth, with sales down 26% year-over-year. As NBA is a US-focused title, this decline was not unexpected. Other new entries included Plaion's Payday 3 at number six and Ubisoft's The Crew Motorfest at number nine. The latter had a weaker launch than its predecessor, with unit sales down 30% compared to The Crew 2. Console hardware sales experienced a significant boost, with a 44% increase in the UK during September, driven by strong sales of all consoles, particularly the Xbox Series S and X. The release of Starfield propelled Xbox platform sales up 136% month-over-month, with the Series X SKU being the most popular version. PlayStation 5 also had a strong month, with sales up 24% over August, while Nintendo Switch sales increased 18% over the same period. In terms of accessories, 663,208 add-on products were sold in the UK, representing a 17.3% increase over August but a 11.6% decline from the previous year. The DualSense White controller retained its position as the best-selling accessory, with strong Xbox console sales driving demand for Xbox controllers.