European Game Sales Experience 11% Decline in Q1

According to recent data, the European gaming market witnessed a decline of 11% in PC and console game sales during the first quarter of the year, with 39 million games sold. This drop is attributed to a weaker release lineup compared to the previous year, which featured notable titles such as Elden Ring and Gran Turismo 7. Despite this, Hogwarts Legacy emerged as the best-selling game of the quarter, becoming the fastest-selling game in Europe outside of the FIFA franchise since 2017. The game's success was followed by Resident Evil 4, which claimed the top spot in March after just two weeks on sale. Console hardware sales, on the other hand, saw a significant surge of 67% in March, driven by the strong performance of the PlayStation 5. With a year-on-year increase of 369%, the PS5 led the market, followed by the Switch and Xbox Series S and X. The rise in console sales also boosted accessory sales, which grew by 13% over the previous year, with the PS5 DualSense Controller being the best-selling product.