The games industry, in general, is slowly transitioning to digital media, with various companies pushing for the same. The UK market, similarly, is becoming increasingly digital- however, it seems like single-player games are continuing to perform well through physical retail channels.
As per a report by GamesIndustry, several of last year’s games such as Far Cry 6, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart, which were some of the best-sellers of the year, performed very well, selling more physically than digitally. The only exception to this is Resident Evil Village, which was marginally a little bit more popular on the digital front.
Nintendo games continue to perform well physically, unsurprisingly. Of all the physical copies sold, Switch had a share of 47%. Apart from that, FIFA 22‘s digital sales share was 61%, making it the fastest-growing digital product in the country, whereas the Call of Duty franchise saw the digital share drop year on year, with Call of Duty: Vanguard’s share being 58%.
EA’s F1 2021 in the end takes the bag for the biggest digital sales share for a new release, enjoying a 64% digital sales split.
Below, you can have a look at the 2021 UK sales chart with digital sales split to get an overview of the current market situation.
| Title | Units | Digital Share |
|---|---|---|
| FIFA 22 | 2,338,778 | 60.8% |
| Call of Duty: Vanguard | 975,339 | 58.3% |
| Grand Theft Auto 5 | 967,242 | 76.9% |
| FIFA 21 | 602,224 | 62.3% |
| Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | 599,881 | No Data |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War | 549,490 | 74.3% |
| Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | 505,803 | 30.6% |
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | 457,407 | No Data |
| Minecraft | 445,124 | 18.3% |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 395,669 | 78.2% |
| F1 2021 | 371,470 | 64.1% |
| Far Cry 6 | 371,020 | 44.7% |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 358,379 | 48.1% |
| Resident Evil Village | 331,252 | 54.8% |
| Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury | 321,010 | No Data |
| Battlefield 2042 | 297,462 | 58.6% |
| Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege | 225,477 | 96.3% |
| Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart | 210,507 | 18.4% |
| Pokémon Brilliant Diamond | 192,576 | No Data |
| Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy | 192,576 | 27.4% |
