PS5 edges ahead of Xbox Series X and S and F1 22 holds pole position | UK Monthly Charts
But overall market figures continue to fall
Console sales dropped slightly in July compared with June, with a fall in sales for all three major platforms.
Nearly 104,000 games machines were sold across the UK last month (GfK UK panel units), a drop of 16% month-on-month. Overall, this year-to-date, games console sales are down 38%. Note: July has four weeks in it, while June had five.
PS5 sales dropped the least during July (down 14%), and as a result it’s now the UK’s second most popular console of 2022, just behind Nintendo Switch. PS5 and Xbox Series X continue to be held back by stock shortages.
F1 22 holds top spot in July
1.79 million physical and digital video games were sold across the UK last month, according to the latest GSD figures.
This is a drop of 17% compared with July last year, and a fall of 32% compared with June 2022.
The biggest game of the month is F1 22, which holds the No.1 position for a second consecutive month, after racing to the top in June.
Otherwise, it was another quiet month. The Quarry, which was also released in June, continues to show some legs at No.8. Meanwhile, the highest charting new game is Nintendo’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which debuts at No.13 after one week on sale.
Nintendo doesn't share digital sales as of yet, and so Nintendo games may have charted higher if digital was included. In terms of physical sales only, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was the best-selling game, F1 22 is at No.2, while Nintendo Switch Sports, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Mario Kart 8: Deluxe are at No.3, 4 and 5.
A number of games, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and Far Cry 6 are back in the charts following promotional activity.
The Horizon: Forbidden West Bundle
Regular readers might note that Horizon: Forbidden West, which dominates the weekly physical charts (from GfK), doesn’t factor at all in the monthly software figures (from GSD). This is because this monthly chart does not factor in console bundles, while the weekly chart does.
The PS5 Horizon bundle has been a bit hit, and over the last three months, 50% of PS5 console sales have been of the official Horizon bundle.
“The rise in fortunes for PS5, apart from the variable that is available stock in any given week, can be attributed to the success of the Horizon Forbidden West Official Bundles -- the first of which hit the UK market in week 19 (May22),” explains GfK games boss Dorian Bloch.
“Since the official bundles launched, looking at the three months of May to July, 50% of PS5 hardware was derived from the two official bundles. This also explains the high chart position for Horizon: Forbidden West in the box software charts over these weeks. Recently, the official bundles have accounted for less PS5 hardware, but many retailers are now soft bundling Horizon: Forbidden West with standard PS5 consoles, especially if they are low on stock with the official bundles. All of this means that Horizon: Forbidden West continues to ride high in the software charts, with an original No1 at launch, and a further five No1’s long after launch, all thanks to bundles.”
PS5 bundles boost accessories, too
551,038 accessories and add-on products were sold in the UK last month (GfK UK panel data), a drop of 5.7% compared with June and 4.8% down compared with July last year.
Both the DualSense Wireless Controller White (No.1) and Black (No.2) continue to lead the way. The fastest rising new accessory on the market is the Stealth C6-100 Gaming Headset from A4T, which jumped 147 places to No.5. This is due to a bundle with the PlayStation 5 console at Argos.
“Also of note in July was the surge on Logitech Driving Force G29 wheel for PS4 and PS5 (No13) and the G920 for Xbox and PC (No14) – both major beneficiaries from Prime week,” says Bloch.
The GSD UK July Top 20 Video Games (Digital + Physical)
| Position | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | F1 22 (EA) |
| 2 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Warner Bros) |
| 3 | Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar) |
| 4 | FIFA 22 (EA) |
| 5 | Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar) |
| 6 | Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo)* |
| 7 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Activision Blizzard) |
| 8 | The Quarry (2K Games) |
| 9 | WWE 2K22 (2K Games) |
| 10 | EA Spourts UFC 4 (EA) |
| 11 | Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft) |
| 12 | Elden Ring (Bandai Namco) |
| 13 | Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Nintendo)* |
| 14 | NBA 2K22 (2K Games) |
| 15 | Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (EA) |
| 16 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Nintendo)* |
| 17 | Minecraft: Switch Edition (Nintendo)* |
| 18 | The Crew 2 (Ubisoft) |
| 19 | Grand Theft Auto Online (Rockstar) |
| 20 | Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft) |
* Digital data unavailable
GSD digital data includes games from participating companies sold via Steam, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Nintendo Eshop. Major participating companies are Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, Embracer Group (including Gearbox, Koch Media, Sabre Interactive), Focus Entertainment, Konami, Marvellous Games, Microids, Microsoft (including Bethesda), Milestone, Nacon, Paradox Interactive, Quantic Dream, Sega, Sony, Square Enix, Take-Two, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. Nintendo and 505 Games are the notable absentees, alongside smaller studios.