UK Video Game Sales Experience a Decline on Black Friday

The UK video game market witnessed a significant decline in sales during November, with just over three million games sold, representing a 33% drop compared to the same period last year, according to GSD data. Two key factors contributing to this decline are the absence of major game releases, such as Call of Duty, which launched in October this year, and the fact that Black Friday sales are not included in the November data. In contrast, last year's November data included Black Friday sales. As a result, December's sales figures are expected to be notably higher. Black Friday sales data is available, revealing that 1.53 million games were sold during the Black Friday week, a decline of over 8% compared to the previous year. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 maintained its top position, followed by EA Sports FC 25, which experienced a 22% decline in sales compared to the same period last year. The highest-ranking new release of the month was Dragon Age: The Veilguard at number three, although it had a slow start, with sales trailing behind other notable games. Another new release, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, narrowly missed the top ten at number eleven, with sales 16% lower than Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and 19% behind Super Mario RPG. In terms of hardware, nearly 270,000 consoles were sold in November, an increase of 85% over October but a significant decline of 45% compared to the same period last year. However, this decline can be attributed to the absence of Black Friday data, and according to GfK, Black Friday console sales were robust, with more PS5s sold than in the previous year. The new PS5 Pro console accounted for 26% of all PS5 consoles sold in November. Additionally, 1.05 million accessories were sold in the UK during November, a 58% increase over October but an 18% decline compared to the same period last year. The top-selling accessories were the DualSense controllers, with the White edition at number one and the Midnight Black edition at number two. A new DualSense variant, the 30th Anniversary Limited Edition, debuted at number four. The UK GSD November 2024 Top 10 list includes games from participating companies, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at number one, followed by EA Sports FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.