God of War Ragnarok Achieves Record-Breaking Launch, Surpassing Call of Duty and Pokémon in UK Boxed Charts

God of War Ragnarok has secured the second-largest boxed game launch in the UK this year, trailing only FIFA 23. The PlayStation title outsold Elden Ring, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus in its first week, based on physical boxed sales. It's worth noting that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had significant digital sales, so the overall ranking may differ once download data is available. Nonetheless, God of War Ragnarok's opening week was remarkably strong, with 82% of sales on PS5 and 18% on PS4. According to GfK, the game sold 51% more units in its first week than the previous best-selling God of War game, released in 2018. In just one week, it has become the third best-selling God of War title of all time and the second-highest in terms of revenue. The official PS5 bundle accounted for 12% of God of War Ragnarok sales on PS5, which in turn represented 60% of all PS5 consoles sold during the week - the largest week for PS5 sales this year. As a result, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was dethroned from the top spot after a 39% decline in sales. Sonic Frontiers debuted at number four, with a 5% increase in sales compared to 2017's Sonic Forces. Football Manager 2023 launched at number 11, with boxed sales down 18% from the previous year. The physical release of Stray on PS4 propelled the game back into the charts at number 23, while Tactics Ogre: Reborn and Cobrai Kai 2: Dojo's Rising entered the charts at numbers 24 and 28, respectively. The surge in PS5 sales also led to a significant increase in sales for Horizon: Forbidden West, which jumped to number seven with a 141% week-on-week increase. Additionally, Switch game sales saw a boost, with Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Nintendo Switch Sports, Splatoon 3, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Minecraft all experiencing notable increases.