October Sees a 12% Surge in European Video Game Sales Driven by Major Releases

18.5 million video games were sold in Europe during October, reflecting an increase of 12.4% compared to the equivalent five-week timeframe last year.

This rise is largely due to the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in October this year, whereas last year’s corresponding title — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — was released in November.

Black Ops 6’s first two weeks saw a 5% increase in unit sales compared to last year’s Modern Warfare 3. Modern Warfare 3 was a relatively easy release for Call of Duty; in contrast, when aligning Black Ops 6 with the 2022’s Modern Warfare 2, opening sales are down 28%.

However, the key distinction with Call of Duty this year is its presence on Game Pass. This means that players may have accessed the game through a subscription on PC and Xbox, and that data is not accounted for here. There has indeed been a notable decline in Call of Duty sales (premium sales) on Xbox platforms as a consequence of the Game Pass inclusion.

If we focus solely on the PlayStation versions (where Game Pass is absent), Black Ops 6’s sales have risen by 26% compared to Modern Warfare 3 and by 2% compared to Modern Warfare 2. Thus, even though we are lacking subscription data, it indicates a significant increase in Call of Duty players this year overall.

In second place is EA Sports FC 25. The football game experienced a modest drop in sales (down 2%) compared to last year’s title over the same five-week period.

We also have another newcomer at No. 3 in the form of Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero from Bandai Namco. It is a remarkable launch for the new Dragon Ball title, with sales (for the first four weeks) more than double that of the previous fastest-selling Dragon Ball game (2020’s Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot).

At No. 5 is yet another new entry with the game Mario Party Jamboree for Nintendo Switch. It is a strong debut for the game, though sales for the first three weeks are 6% lower than those of 2021’s Mario Party Superstars. Note: Mario Party sales are purely physical, as Nintendo does not share digital data with the charts.

Next on the list of fresh titles is Silent Hill 2 by Konami. This remake has performed well, although it hasn’t quite matched the success of last year’s horror remakes. Sales of Silent Hill 2 for the first four weeks are 57% lower than the Resident Evil 4 remake and 31% below that of the Dead Space remake.

Making it into the Top Ten after one week on the market is Dragon Age: The Veilguard at No. 7. EA’s game performed decently well in the UK, but results are slightly softer in other parts of Europe. In comparison to other recent major RPGs, Dragon Age’s first week sales were more than 18% lower than Dragon’s Dogma 2 (released in March) and nearly 21% below Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (released in February).

Finally, rounding off the list of new releases in the Top Ten is the boxing game Undisputed. As reported in the UK, the title from indie developer Metal City Interactive has performed exceptionally well, indicating there was indeed significant pent-up demand for a boxing game featuring licensed boxers.

Just outside the Top Ten is Metaphor: ReFantazio. The Atlus title is crafted by some of the creative minds behind the cult favorite Persona series, and compared to 2019’s Persona 5 Royal, launch sales are approximately 32% lower (first four weeks on the market). Yet, it’s clearly a solid outcome for a new IP, with opening sales surpassing all other Persona titles tracked by GSD.

Lastly, Sonic X Shadow Generations is making its way in at No. 16. The Sega game’s sales are double those of last year’s 2D Sonic entry (Sonic Superstars)