Hogwarts Legacy Tops UK Boxed Charts

The year 2023 concluded with Hogwarts Legacy as the top-selling physical video game in the UK, surpassing EA Sports FC 24. This marks a significant shift, as EA's football title had dominated the UK's boxed game sales for the past 10 years. Hogwarts Legacy, launched in February for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series S and X, outperformed EA's football game, which was released in September. Notably, this is the first time in a decade that EA's football game, previously released under the FIFA license, has not been the UK's top boxed game. The last time this occurred was in 2013, when Grand Theft Auto 5 took the top spot. This year also marked the first time EA's football game was released under its own branding, rather than the FIFA IP, in 30 years, following Electronic Arts' failure to agree on new terms with the footballing body. Although EA Sports FC 24's sales have declined compared to recent FIFA titles, it is expected to remain a top title when digital data is released later. Hogwarts Legacy's boxed sales were primarily driven by PS5 sales, which accounted for over half of the game's sales this year, followed by PS4 and Nintendo Switch sales. According to Gfk, 12.76 million boxed video games were sold in the UK in 2023, representing a nearly 5% decline from 2022. Hogwarts Legacy also secured the final weekly number one spot of 2023, rising three places despite a 33% drop in sales week-on-week. The game surpassed Super Mario Bros Wonder, which held the number two position despite a 63% fall in sales week-on-week.