According to the report, there have been a total of 71 million games sold in 2025 across PC and consoles in Europe, which marks a 6 percent drop over the same period from 2024. This data accounts for sales having taken place up to July 28. Of the 71 million game sales, 52 million were digital copies, while 19.7 million were physical copies. These are 3 percent and 9 percent reductions over the previous year, and around 74 percent of games sold this year in Europe have been digital, which, when it comes to percentages, is a 2 percent rise from 2024.

The best-selling game in Europe in 2025 has been EA Sports FC 25. The title was released back in 2024, and taking it into account, Assassin’s Creed Shadows currently sits in the number 2 spot for game sales overall in Europe across PC and consoles. The top 20 sales chart, which you can check out below, also include other games released this year, including The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, Elden Ring: Nightreign, and Nintendo Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World. It is worth noting that digital sales data for Nintendo games hasn’t been revealed.

The data, coming from official European charts company GSD, also interestingly omits Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It was noted as being missing because publisher Kepler Interactive hasn’t shared sales data for the game with GSD. An analyst from GSD, Sam Naji, also revealed some details about how game spending has changed for PC and consoles over the year.

In his analysis, Naji said that the first 19 weeks of 2025 saw spending drop by 2 percent compared to 2024, down to €1.33 billion, while the number of copies sold dropped by 9 percent. He attributed this to the average price of games having gone up by around 8 percent, with gamers spending an average of €29 per game, when compared to 2024’s average of €27 per game. He also noted that digital spending had gone up by 8 percent compared to a 6 percent drop in number of units sold, attributing it to a 15 percent rise in average price for digital games – €22 to €25 per game.

Best Selling Games in Europe for 2025 Across PC and Consoles:

1. EA Sports FC 25 (EA)
2. Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Ubisoft)
3. Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
4. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)
5. Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros)
6. Split Fiction (EA)
7. Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Activision Blizzard)
9. Mario Kart World (Nintendo)
10. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (Plaion)
11. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Bethesda)
12. Star Wars Battlefront 2 (EA)
13. Elden Ring: Nightreign (Bandai Namco)
14. It Takes Two (EA)
15. Grand Theft Auto Online (Rockstar)
16. NBA 2K25 (2K Games)
17. F1 25 (EA)
18. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft)
19. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Nintendo)
20. Battlefield 1 (EA)

Responding to a post by a former XDefiant player about how they hadn’t played Call of Duty in almost a year, Rubin wrote about how modern Call of Duty focuses too much on “FOMO (fear of missing out) marketing and EOMM (engagement-optimised matchmaking) matches.” Rubin also wrote about how the franchise would, in the past, focus more on having more player-centric design and would be less focused on engagement-based tactics.

“A lot of games, Call of Duty included just focus on how to make the most money possible out of the player base,” wrote Rubin. “They rely heavily on FOMO marketing and EOMM matches. But I feel like it used to be just more about the quality of the game which would drive players to play. And that means making the game more player centric. i.e. less engagement based tactics and higher quality experiences for the players. Better maps, modes etc.”

“In other words your game should have a high player count because it’s good and people want to play it rather than people playing it because the game has a $250M marketing budget. Everything is just said is very simplified as it would take too long to really go into it. One last simple analogy. Be more like Larian, less like Activision.”

Responding to another post about how even XDefiant made use of FOMO-focused marketing, Rubin said that, while this was true for the free-to-play shooter, the game had little in the way of budget for marketing.

“As a free to play game we did have fomo content although one of the features that was coming was a way to earn a currency by just playing to buy old content,” wrote Rubin. “But as far as marketing we barely had any marketing budget.”

Ubisoft announced that it would be shutting down the servers for XDefiant back in December. As part of its announcement, the company said that it would be keeping the servers for the shooter live until June 3. Currently, XDefiant is in the midst of its final season – Season 3 – which was launched back in December.

As part of its final season, XDefiant got three more playable factions – the Assassins from Assassin’s Creed, the Wolves from Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, and Blood Dragon from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. While the game was originally meant to get four new maps as part of the season, it ended up getting 13 maps total, 9 of which were meant for release in future seasons.

While it will be going offline in around a month, the game is currently still available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review of the base game for more details.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is also included in the Platinum category, as is Elden Ring, no doubt driven by the release of its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. Meanwhile, free-to-play megatons like Apex Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2 are also featured.

Several other new 2024 releases are included across multiple categories in the top 100, with Gold (13th-24th) including EA Sports FC 25, Path of Exile 2, and Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO, Silver (25th-50th) including S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Tekken 8, and Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Bronze (51st-100th) including the likes of Persona 3 Reload, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Silent Hill 2, Balatro, and Hades 2.

Interestingly, Monster Hunter Wilds, which is releasing in February, is also included in the Bronze category based on its pre-order sales alone, as is Monster Hunter Worlds. Fallout 4 can be found in the same category, though curiously, Starfield is nowhere to be found in the top 100. Meanwhile, some notable 2024 releases are also surprisingly missing, such as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

You can check out the full top 100 sellers list below.

PLATINUM:

• Apex Legends
• Counter-Strike 2
• Helldivers 2
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Palworld
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Dota 2
• Destiny 2
• Elden Ring
• PUBG Battlegrounds

GOLD:

• EA Sports FC 25
• The First Descendant
• Enshrouded
• Path of Exile 2
• EA Sports FC 24
• Warframe 1999
• Dead by Daylight
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Naraka: Bladepoint
• War Thunder
• Throne and Liberty
• Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO

SILVER:

• Forza Horizon 5
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
• Fallout 76
• Manor Lords
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Ghost of Tsushima
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel
• Granblue Fantasy: Relink
• Final Fantasy 14
• Lethal Company
• Grand Theft Auto 5
• Rainbow Six Siege
• Stardew Valley
• Once Human
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• Last Epoch
• Rust
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• Dragon’s Dogma 2
• Gray Zone Warfare
• Diablo 4
• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Lost Ark
• Tekken 8
• Forza Horizon 4

BRONZE:

• Fallout 4
• Path of Exile
• Silent Hill 2
• It Takes Two
• Team Fortress 2
• Crusader Kings 3
• American Struck Simulator
• Monster Hunter World
• NBA 2K25
• Black Desert
• Farming Simulator 25
• Balatro
• The Finals
• V Rising
• Battlefield 2042
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
• No Man’s Sky
• Ark: Survival Ascended
• TCG Card Shop Simulator
• Phasmophobia 
• Rimworld
• Street Fighter 6
• Sons of the Forest
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
• Satisfactory
• Wallpaper Engine
• Hades 2
• Ready or Not
• Stellaris
• Factorio
• Hearts of Iron 4
• Overwatch 2
• The Sims 4
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Bodycam
• Supermarket Simulator
• Content Warning
• Total War: Warhammer 3
• Liar’s Bar
• Chained Together
• World of Warships
• Sea of Thieves
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Eurotruck Simulator 2
• Persona 3 Reload
• Civilization 6
• Hunt: Showdown 1896
• Project Zomboid

“It’s hard to know what EA’s expectations were, but it seems fine. It’s not earth-shattering, but it isn’t terrible.” On the GIBiz Microcast with editor-in-chief James Batchelor, Dring said he didn’t see a “huge amount” of marketing from Electronic Arts leading up to release. He also revealed that The Veilguard did “a little less” than Star Wars Outlaws, though it’s not far off.

The other major release of last month, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, is still performing well. It’s behind Helldivers 2 in sales across Europe and trailing EA Sports FC 25 and EA Sports FC 24, the current top two-selling games in the UK.

As for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, stay tuned for more details on its sales in the coming weeks. It’s available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out our review here.

I talked about it on the podcast that’s just gone up. Did almost exactly the same (in the UK) as Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. It’s hard to know what EA’s expectations were, but it seems fine. It’s not earth shattering, but it isn’t terrible

— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) November 11, 2024

It’s getting about that time of the year when we get news on the biggest annual series to ever exist, Call of Duty. The 2020 entry is coming, and despite some rumors and an alleged very early build of the game, we have yet to see anything concrete, or at the very least, not until now.

A title card identifying something as simply Call of Duty: Black Ops has been dug up via PSN from Twitter user James Kiwami. You can see it below. The codename within the code is also The Red Door and The Breach. The rumor has been for quite some time that the 2020 entry would be an entry in the Black Ops subseries focused on the Cold War. It’s interesting that only Black Ops is in the title card here. Could the next entry simply be referred to as Black Ops similar to last year’s Modern Warfare? Or could this be a remaster of the first game that will be released either beside the new game or at another time?

There’s a lot of questions that we don’t know the answers to just yet. Like all leaks, we also file this under rumor for the time being considering it’s possible this is a high profile fake, but it looks doubtful that is the case. We should be hearing about the next Call of Duty soon regardless one way or another.

pic.twitter.com/VdDcEADYmO

— James (@GarnetSunset) June 9, 2020

CodeName: "The Red Door"/"The Breach"
PKG Name: UP0002-CUSA20046_00-COD2020INTALPHA1-A0101-V0100-DP.pkg
ID: CUSA20046

— James (@GarnetSunset) June 9, 2020

Reports emerged in April 2019 that for Call of Duty’s 2020 instalment, Activision would be breaking their three developers-cycle for the series, and that though it would have been Sledgehammer Games’ turn to release a new entry in the series, it would actually be Treyarch who would be taking the reins for the year. This was followed a few months later by a leak that stated that that game would be a reboot of the Black Ops continuity, and would feature a campaign whose story would span over 40 years.

Those details have re-emerged once again. Noted Call of Duty leaker TheGamingRevolution recently posted a video on YouTube in which they leaked a lot of alleged new details on this year’s Call of Duty entry. The video re-iterates that the game will be made by Treyarch, with Raven Software (co-developers of Call of Duty: Warzone) and Sledgehammer Games providing support. The game will apparently run on the Infinity Ward Poland engine, which is what was used for the development of Modern Warfare as well.

The video claims that Black Ops protagonists Alex Mason and Sergeant Frank Woods will be returning, but that they will be played by new actors. The campaign will supposedly span over 40 years – which is consistent with previous reports – and will focus on real-life events during the Cold War and the Vietnam War, with the latter especially being more of a focus than it was in the original Black Ops. The title is currently being called Codename: Zeus, and will either be released as Call of Duty: Black Ops or Call of Duty: Black Operations.

One this the video emphasis is that the game is going for a very realistic and grounded tone – even more so than last year’s Modern Warfare reboot – and that this entails some scenes with shock value, as well as a notable interrogation scene (Black Ops is no stranger to interrogation scenes, after all). The story will also be told through various perspectives, including the United States, South Vietnam, and Viet Cong.

Details on the game’s multiplayer have also emerged from the video. Apparently, there will be multiple 32v32 modes, including Ground War. Killstreaks will be returning, of course, but so, too, will Operators, which throws a big question mark on whether Specialists will return (probably not, if Operators do indeed return).

Multiplayer DLC will supposedly be free, as has been the case with Modern Warfare, though Activision are also allegedly currently considering a Battle Pass for Zombies. And yes, obviously, Zombies will be back, this time with a story focusing on Vietnam, and a tone much more grounded and realistic (in keeping with the campaign) than the campy fantasy stuff the series has generally veered toward with this mode.

The video also says that Sledgehammer Games are working on a free-to-play Call of Duty title that is scheduled for 2021 (which is something else that’s come up more than once of late). The game – which will supposedly be a spinoff, rather than the major mainline Call of Duty entry for that year – is said to feature an open world setting and battle royale elements, though there’s much about it that still remains unclear.

You can watch the full video below to get all the details.

As always, we’re going to have to file this away as a rumour, and until such time we hear something official from Activision, it’s best to take this with a grain of salt. It is interesting, however, that many of these details have been consistent across various reports and leaks over the last year or so, so there has to be something there.

Either way, we’ll keep you updated, so stay tuned.

In other news, it also looks like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered will be releasing sometime this year. Read more on that through here.

Measuring the absolute best in the past decade is always a tough task but Rockstar Games likely isn’t worrying. Its open world title Grand Theft Auto 5, which first launched in September 2013, is the best-selling game of the decade according to UKIE and Gfk. It probably isn’t a surprise to anyone since the title has shipped 115 million units as of November 2019.

According to BBC, Grand Theft Auto 5 is on top, followed by the first Call of Duty: Black Ops and Minecraft. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is in fourth place followed by FIFA 14, FIFA 13 and FIFA 15. The order is broken up by Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 before finishing off with FIFA 11 and then FIFA 12.

It’s unsurprising considering how strongly Call of Duty and FIFA titles dominate the region year in and year out. To see Grand Theft Auto 5 stand tall amid all that is impressive indeed. Perhaps this success will spur Rockstar to release Grand Theft Auto 6 sooner rather than later? We’ll have to wait and find out.

Check out the top ten best-selling games of the UK for this past decade below:

1. Grand Theft Auto 5
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops
3. Minecraft
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
5. FIFA 14
6. FIFA 13
7. FIFA 15
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
9. FIFA 11
10. FIFA 12

Reports emerged earlier in the year that claimed that for 2020’s Call of Duty instalment, Activision will be breaking away from the three studio-development cycle the series has been following over the last few years, and that development had instead been shifted from Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software to Treyarch, to get them to fast-track production and have the game – reportedly another Black Ops title – out by next year.

Now, another new report emerges that potentially reveals some details on the game. YouTuber LongSensation – who was the one who broke the news that this year’s Call of Duty would be called simply Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – is reporting on Twitter that 2020’s game might receive a similar treatment. It’s going to be called either Call of Duty: Black Ops 5, or simply Call of Duty: Black Ops. The YouTuber also mentions that the game is supposed to be “even more gritty and gruesome than Modern Warfare.”

He also talks about some alleged campaign details. The aforementioned report from earlier in the year stated that Call of Duty 2020’s campaign would be set in Vietnam during the Cold War, however it seems like the scope of the entire thing is going to be much bigger. It will instead over 40 years, and will cover both, the Vietnam and the Korean wars.

It’s all unconfirmed at this point, of course, and probably will remain for some time to come, so until such time you hear this coming from official channels, it’s best to take it with a grain of salt, as is the case with any rumour. That said, continuing to move ahead in the “realistic and gritty” direction that Activision are setting for the series with this year’s game seems like a move that makes sense.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, meanwhile, is due out on October 25th for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Infinity Ward recently spoke about whether or not they feel it’s a political game- read more on that through here.

https://twitter.com/LongSensationYT/status/1159077570912096261

Much like Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, Activision is looking to create a film universe for its Call of Duty franchise.

Speaking to The Guardian, Activision Blizzard Studios co-presidents Stacey Sher and Nick van Dyk talked about drawing from several different titles like Black Ops and Modern Warfare for films.

Sher said that, “We have plotted out many years. We put together this group of writers to talk about where we were going. There’ll be a film that feels more like Black Ops, the story behind the story. The Modern Warfare series looks at what it’s like to fight a war with the eyes of the world on you. And then maybe something that is more of a hybrid, where you are looking at private, covert operations, while a public operation is going on.” The first film is expect by 2018.

Van Dyk also said that the films would “have the same sort of high-adrenaline, high-energy aesthetic as the game, but it’s not a literal adaptation. It’s a much more broad and inclusive, global in scope…a big, tentpole, Marvel-esque movie.”

This seems to imply multiple film series though it wasn’t clarified. A TV show is also under consideration for classic conflicts like World War 2 and Vietnam.

What are your thoughts on a cinematic Call of Duty franchise? Let us know in the comments.

After the announcement of Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Xbox 360 becoming backwards compatible on the Xbox One, sales of the game rose astronomically. On Amazon, sales rose by 13,400 percent while the Classics version sales increased by 5,971% percent.

The game is currently second on the retailer’s PC & Video Games sales chart (which changes by the hour), putting it ahead of DOOM and just under Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. That’s a pretty strong jump especially since it was previously ranked in the 100s with regards to sales.

Despite the popularity of Black Ops 3, many fans have fond memories of the multiplayer in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Of course, it was also the first title in the series to introduce Zombies as a separate mode and helped cement it as a major staple in the franchise moving forward.

What are your thoughts on the Xbox 360 version enjoying such brisk sales? Let us know in the comments below.