European Game Sales Experience Slight Decline of 1.6% in First Half of 2024

Nearly 80 million PC and console games were sold across Europe during the first six months of 2024, as revealed by GSD data. This represents a mere 1.6% decline in unit sales compared to the same period in 2023, a year that saw significant releases such as Hogwarts Legacy, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Diablo IV, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. In contrast, only two games in the top ten best-selling games of 2024 so far, Helldivers 2 and The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered, were released this year. The lack of major releases has resulted in lower average selling prices, leading to a more substantial revenue decline. In the UK market, for instance, ERA reported a 30% drop in game revenue during the first half of the year. European game sales in June totaled 11.3 million, a 19% decrease from the previous year, which had notable releases like Diablo 4 and Final Fantasy 16. However, EA Sports FC24 saw a 7% increase in sales compared to FIFA 24 during the same period last year, likely boosted by the European Championships. Elden Ring also experienced a significant sales surge following the release of its new DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, with a 454% month-on-month increase. The highest-charting new game was Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, which narrowly missed being the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game this year. GSD data encompasses physical sales in major European markets and digital sales from most major publishers, although Nintendo's digital data is not included. The console market faced challenges due to tough comparisons, with just over 300,000 consoles sold in June, a 24% drop from the same period in 2023. For the first half of the year, the console hardware market declined by 24%, with 2.2 million units sold. The accessories and peripherals market saw 1.1 million products sold in June, a 7.3% decrease from the previous year. The first six months of the year witnessed eight million accessories sold, representing an 8.4% decline from 2023.