UK games and console sales fell in 2022 despite big sales from established franchises

Game sales in the UK were down across the board in 2022 despite increased interest in new releases.

According to GSD market data (thanks GamesIndustry.biz), video game sales fell six percent, while console sales fell 29 percent.

FIFA and Call of Duty were the year’s top games, while Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console (despite a drop in sales).

Last year, 34.2 million games were sold, with nearly 20 million sold through digital download stores (down 3.4 percent from 2021) and 14.2 million through physical retailers (down 9 percent from 2021).

However, sales of new releases increased by 20 percent compared to 2021, thanks to new titles in popular series.

FIFA 23 was the best-selling game of the year, up 4 percent in sales compared to FIFA 22. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 took second place with a 67 percent increase in sales compared to last year’s Call of Duty: Vanguard .

Elden Ring, Eurogamer’s Game of the Year among many others, ranks fourth behind LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

Additionally, sales of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet increased 36 percent compared to last year’s Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, while Pokémon Legends: Arceus also proved popular.

Digital sales of games released on both digital and physical media grew just 1 percent year-on-year after downloads surged significantly in the COVID-19 years of 2020 and 2021. It should also be noted that Nintendo does not share the digital sales of its games.

Console sales also declined compared to 2021 due to ongoing stock shortages. Sales of Sony’s PlayStation 5 console were down nearly 33 per cent, while Switch sales were down 27.5 per cent but still remained the UK’s best-selling console.

Xbox Series X/S sales also fell, but by a smaller amount – 15 percent. The three platforms were separated by fewer than 60,000 units by the end of the year.

Yesterday at CES, Sony announced that it has now sold over 30 million PS5 consoles and that the console shortage has been declared over.