EA Sports FC 24 and GTA 5 Dominate European Charts in Challenging May

The European gaming market experienced a decline in sales, with 11.6 million PC and console games sold in May, representing a 17% drop compared to the same period last year. This decline is attributed to the lack of major releases, unlike the previous year, which saw the successful launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Hogwarts Legacy. The top-selling game in May was EA Sports FC 24, followed closely by Grand Theft Auto 5, while F1 23 secured the third spot despite a slow start, with launch sales down 35% from the previous year. The PC release of Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut boosted the game's ranking to fourth, and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door debuted at fifth. Notably, the new Paper Mario's sales trailed behind similar games, with an 8% decline compared to Super Mario RPG and 8.5% lower than Paper Mario: The Origami King. The only other new entry in the Top 100 was Homeworld 3, which ranked 76th. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order re-entered the Top Ten due to pricing activity related to Star Wars. Console sales also saw a significant drop, with a 40% decline in sales across tracked markets, primarily due to a tough comparison with the previous year's Switch sales, which were boosted by the release of Zelda and a special edition OLED Switch model. Accessory sales decreased by 25%, except for the DualSense controller, which saw a year-over-year increase. The data, which includes digital sales from participating companies and physical sales in major European markets, highlights the challenges faced by the gaming industry in May.