European game sales remained strong in the first half of 2024 despite fewer AAA video games being released compared to last year.
That’s according to GSD data published by GI.biz, which suggests that just under 80 million PC and console games were sold across Europe for the first six months of 2024.
That represents a drop of 1.6% in terms of unit sales, which is a strong performance considering the first half of 2023 saw the release of major titles such as Hogwarts Legacy, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Diablo IV and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
In comparison, 2024 has seen just two new games break into the top ten sales chart: Helldivers 2 (at No.2) and The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered (at No.10).
In terms of revenue, because many of this year’s top sellers have a lower selling price, the market is likely down more severely. In the UK, games revenue was down 30% over the first half of the year, according to GI.
It’s worth noting that GSD tracks physical sales in all major European markets, but is missing digital sales from some companies such as Nintendo. Data for Palworld, one of the year’s biggest hits, is also missing.
In terms of console hardware, the European market is down 24%, with 2.2 million units sold. PS5 is down 16%, Switch down 32% and Xbox Series S and X down 37%. This is likely due to a weaker release slate and an aging Switch platform.
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