God of War Ragnarok Launch Surpasses Call of Duty, Elden Ring, and Pokémon in UK Boxed Sales

The UK has witnessed the second-largest boxed game launch of the year with God of War Ragnarok, trailing only behind FIFA 23. In its debut week, the PlayStation title outsold Elden Ring, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus in terms of physical boxed sales. Although Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had significant digital sales, God of War Ragnarok's impressive opening week is undeniable, with 82% of its first-week sales coming from PS5 and 18% from PS4. According to GfK, Ragnarok achieved higher first-day sales than any previous God of War game's first-week sales, and it has already become the third best-selling God of War title of all time, with 51% more units sold in its first week compared to the 2018 God of War game. The official PS5 bundle accounted for 12% of PS5 God of War Ragnarok sales, driving a 60% increase in PS5 console sales for the week, making it the biggest week for PS5 sales this year. As a result, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been dethroned, dropping to No.2 with a 39% decline in sales. Sonic Frontiers follows at No.4, selling 5% more copies in its first week than Sonic Forces in 2017. Football Manager 2023 debuted at No.11, with a 18% decrease in boxed launch sales compared to the previous year. The PS4 version of Stray re-entered the charts at No.23, while Tactics Ogre: Reborn and Cobrai Kai 2: Dojo's Rising entered at No.24 and No.28, respectively. The surge in PS5 sales also boosted Horizon: Forbidden West to No.7, with a 141% increase in sales, and led to increases in Switch game sales, including Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Nintendo Switch Sports, Splatoon 3, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Minecraft on Switch.