The UK month-to-month online game gross sales chart for March 2024

After a comparatively sluggish begin to the 12 months, the month of March noticed a major rise in online game gross sales of simply over 25% in comparison with the earlier 12 months. Final month, all through the UK, a complete of three.65 million console and PC titles had been bought – each bodily and digitally mixed.

Helldivers 2, Sony’s latest squad-based shooter, topped the charts because the top-selling title for the second month straight. Nonetheless, the rise in gross sales throughout the UK in March was additionally because of the highly-anticipated launches of Ultimate Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and WWE2K24.

Despite the fact that Ultimate Fantasy VII: Rebirth was technically launched on February 29, the charts in March might be remembered for the showdown between the 2 Japanese RPGs – with Dragon’s Dogma 2 being the opposite one.

Despite the fact that each video games offered properly and the numbers had been fairly shut, Dragon’s Dogma 2 got here out on high – despite the fact that it didn’t launch till March 21 – and ended the month at No.3 within the charts. Ultimate Fantasy VII Rebirth, then again, needed to accept the No.5 spot.

Slamming its manner in between the 2 sword-slashing journey video games and pinning down the No.4 spot for March was WWE 2K24. The discharge of the annual wrestling recreation loved a greater begin this 12 months than that of its predecessor. Gross sales on WWE2K24 are actually not less than 8% greater than that of 2K23 after 4 weeks of comparative launch.

One considerably sudden title to enter the charts this previous month was a title whose title hasn’t been talked about in years, Command & Conquer. At the beginning of March, EA launched a 17-game C&C final assortment on Steam, and each ‘Purple Alert 2’ and ‘Generals’ made it into the Prime 10, with eight different titles additionally making it into the Prime 20.

This C&C massive bundle launch fully took over the charts, which means that different new releases and IPs, similar to Rise of Ronin and Princess Peach: Showtime had been additional down the charts than they’d have been in any other case and needed to accept locations outdoors the highest 20.

Though software program gross sales are on an upward pattern, the identical can’t precisely be mentioned for the {hardware} aspect of issues. Within the UK all through March, near 117,000 consoles had been offered, and regardless of this being a rise of round 22% in comparison with figures from February, it’s truly a lower of over 15% in comparison with final March.

The PlayStation 5 was as soon as once more the highest vendor, with round 25% extra gross sales than in February. Nonetheless, when juxtaposed with figures from final March, gross sales are down by round 9%. This could possibly be due, partly, to the PS5 lastly changing into absolutely out there this time final 12 months and experiencing a large enhance in gross sales because of this.

Issues are comparable throughout the opposite console platforms, with gross sales of the Nintendo Swap up by roughly 20% from the earlier month, however down by round 20% from the earlier 12 months. It’s just about the identical story with the Xbox Collection X/S, gross sales of which additionally elevated by round 19% from the month earlier than, but in addition skilled a lower of 18% compared with figures from March 2023.

Within the equipment division, throughout March players bought a staggering 732,584 equipment within the UK. The place this differs from console gross sales is that gross sales on equipment had been each up from February by 20%, and up once more in comparison with final March by round 16%.

Recreation controllers have been flying off the cabinets to this point this 12 months, with the PS5 once more main the pack. Each the Midnight Black and White model DualSense controllers had been the No.1 and No.3 best-selling controllers respectively, with the DualSense Edge additionally taking the No.2 spot.

Nonetheless, it needs to be said that the White DualSense truly offered extra models, however with the DualSense Edge retailing for £209 in comparison with the £57 worth level for the usual Black and White fashions, the Edge was technically capable of generate extra income general.

The one different actual controller-related entry of word this previous month was the brand new pink Pleasure-Cons for the Nintendo Swap, coinciding with the discharge of Princess Peach: Showtime, and though it offered comparatively properly, it got here nowhere near the PS5 controller numbers.

At the side of the success of recreation controller gross sales, PC gaming keyboards and gaming mice have additionally been promoting fairly properly in 2024. Swiss producer, Logitech, is main the market with the G502, G305, and G203 fashions. In truth, the highest 10 highest-grossing gaming mice had been all from Logitech.

So far as keyboards go, the Belief GXT-830 and GXT-865 led the best way, with the Logitech G213 simply behind – each GXT fashions had been on sale in March. When it comes to numbers, Add-on merchandise additionally offered properly all through March and proceed to be one of many best-selling sides of the trade.