Strong week for UK physical game sales despite lockdown

Over 340,000 boxed video games were sold in the UK last week, according to GfK figures.

It is a drop of 28% compared to the previous week, but that was the release window of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which is the biggest game launch of the year so far. Compared to the week before, which is a fairer comparison, boxed game sales are up 124%.

It's a strong performance for the physical games market, which has had to endure the closure of numerous stores (including GAME and Argos) as a result of a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The No.1 game of the week was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which jumped 78% in sales week-on-week. That's followed by FIFA 20, which increased by 53% in sales.

Last week's top performer was Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but the Switch game has plunged 81% in sales week-on-week and is now down at No.3, impacted by stock shortages following an impressive first week. Nintendo Switch games fell across the board this week, which is likely due to a lack of available stock of the console in the UK.

Last week's No.2, Doom: Eternal, also fell two places to No.4 with a 76% sales decline week-on-week.

There are a number of PS4 and Xbox One exclusives lower down the charts, including Forza Horizon 3, Uncharted 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, PlayStation VR Worlds and Sea of Thieves. These games have been boosted due to being bundled with games consoles. Video game consoles have spiked in the UK over the last three weeks due to the coronavirus crisis.

Here is the GfK Top Ten for the week ending March 28th