European Gaming Market Sees Significant Uptick in May, Driven by Nintendo Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The European gaming market experienced a substantial surge in sales last month, primarily driven by the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. According to the latest GSD data, nearly 10.6 million digital and physical games were sold across Europe, marking a significant increase in sales. This growth encompasses all retail games released in major European markets, as well as digital games from most AAA publishers in all European territories. The sales jump of 33% over the same period in May 2022 can be largely attributed to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which has become the runaway success of the month, outselling the second-placed game, Hogwarts Legacy, by more than 2.5 times. After just three weeks on sale, Zelda has already secured the third position in the best-selling games of the year across Europe, behind EA's FIFA 23 and Warner Bros' Hogwarts Legacy. Notably, Nintendo does not share digital download data with the charts, whereas EA and Warner Bros do. However, if we consider only physical retail sales, Zelda has already become the No.1 game of the year across European markets. Hogwarts Legacy, which posted a 321% jump in sales month-on-month due to the release of the PS4 and Xbox One version, holds the second position. The only other new release in the Top 20 is Lego 2K Drive, which ranks at No.19. The Nintendo Switch has overtaken the PS5 to become Europe's No.1 console once again, driven by the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, with Switch sales across Europe increasing by over 39% compared to May last year. The PS5, however, remains a strong force across Europe, with sales up 81% compared to May 2022. The Xbox Series S and X are in third position, with sales down 16% over May last year. Overall, 429,000 games consoles were sold across tracked European markets, representing a 40% rise over the previous year. In the peripherals and add-on products category, 1.3 million accessories and toys-to-life figures were sold across Europe, up 30% year-on-year. The PS5 DualSense remains the top-selling accessory, followed by the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. The Switch pad saw a 530% jump in sales following the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and a special edition Zelda Pro Controller was also released, which sold out globally last month. The Tears of the Kingdom Amiibo, released alongside the game, became the fifth best-selling accessory of the month, while the Nintendo Switch OLED Carry Case debuted at No.10, following the release of a Zelda version. Finally, in terms of points cards and wallets, 1.35 million of these items were sold last month, up 2.7% over May 2022, with the PlayStation Store Wallet Top-Up Card remaining the top seller.