UK Monthly Charts: Digital Sales Dominate for Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, Diablo, and F1

The UK gaming market saw a significant boost in digital and physical video game sales last month, with a total of three million units sold. According to the latest GSD data, game sales experienced a modest 7% increase, which is a notable achievement considering the number of high-profile releases in June compared to the same period last year. Diablo 4 emerged as the clear winner, claiming the top spot as the best-selling game in June. It is also the second fastest-selling game of the year, trailing behind Hogwarts Legacy. Notably, Nintendo's Zelda game is not included in the digital data, but its physical sales indicate a strong performance. Diablo 4's sales were dominated by PC, accounting for 57% of total sales, while the remaining 43% were split between PS5, Xbox Series S and X, and PS4. Final Fantasy 16 secured the second spot, with its opening two-week sales 36% lower than the last major Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy 7: Remake, released in April 2020. Despite this, Square Enix celebrated the game's three million global sales milestone, suggesting satisfaction with the result. F1 23 took the third spot, with sales down 49% compared to the previous year's racing title. The game performed best on Xbox platforms, accounting for 48.5% of sales, followed by PS5 with 47.6%. Street Fighter 6 debuted at number eight, with PS5 accounting for over 52% of sales, followed by PC with 23%, Xbox Series S and X with 17%, and PS4 with over 7%. Notably, 82% of sales for these four new releases came from digital stores, with Diablo 4 having the highest digital share and Final Fantasy 16 having the lowest. The best-selling physical game of the week remained The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, marking its second consecutive month at the top. The PS5 price cut led to a significant boost in console sales, with a 15% increase in June to 110,000 consoles sold. The PS5 regained its position as the top-selling console, with sales up 43% over May, driven by the reduced price of the standard PS5 bundle with God of War Ragnarok. Nintendo Switch sales dropped 20%, while Xbox Series S and X sales increased 31% month-on-month. Year-to-date, 722,000 games consoles have been sold, representing an 11% increase over the previous year, primarily driven by the PS5's 66% year-on-year sales growth. In the accessories market, the Midnight Black PS5 DualSense controller took the top spot, replacing the White PS5 DualSense controller. The Starfield Limited Edition Xbox controller debuted at number five, and overall, 547,000 add-on products were sold, a 24% increase over May but a 6.3% decrease over June last year. The GSD digital data includes games from participating companies sold via Steam, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Eshop, with notable participants including Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, and Capcom, among others.