UK Charts: Forza Horizon 4 is the fastest-selling game in the series so far But Assassin's Creed sales start slower than usual

Christopher Dring Head of Games B2B Monday 8th October 2018 Share this article Share

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The Q4 sales season is well underway with three sizeable releases in this week's UK physical Charts.

FIFA 19 retained its No.1 position. The football game suffered a 64% drop in sales in its second week, which is a softer fall than we saw last year (69%). Nevertheless, the game is performing well behind its predecessor at physical retail so far.

The biggest new boxed game in the charts is Assassin's Creed Odyssey at No.2. The Ubisoft game achieved wide critical acclaim last week, but its launch sales are down almost 26% compared with last year's Assassin's Creed Origins. It may seem worrying, but this year's Creed has launched almost a full month earlier than normal, giving the game a far longer run-in to Christmas. As a result, the comparisons aren't particular fair and it's too early to draw any meaningful conclusions about where it might end up commercially.

Also note, 35% of last year's Assassin's Creed Origins' sales were digital, so sales may have increased in terms of downloads (these charts do not track downloads). 63% of Assassin's Creed's sales were on PS4, with the rest coming on Xbox One.

The new game at No.3 makes for happier reading. Forza Horizon 4 sales are actually ever-so-slightly higher than 2016's Forza Horizon 3 - which in an age of digital acceleration, is impressive to see in the physical charts. The Xbox One exclusive was only narrowly behind Assassin's Creed, too.

Indeed, Xbox tells us that Forza Horizon 4 is the fastest-selling game in the series in the UK so far.

"We're thrilled that Forza Horizon 4 has been so well received by gamers across the UK," said Xbox UK director Harvey Eagle. "Set in beautiful, historic Britain and made by British studio Playground Games, Forza Horizon 4 is the fastest-ever selling game of the Forza Horizon series in the UK according to the latest GfK data. We're also seeing a huge uplift in Xbox Game Pass subscriptions and engagement. These achievements are a testament to the craft and ambition of the latest release of the Forza franchise, the world's biggest racing IP."

It's not the only Forza game in the charts. Promotion of an Xbox One hardware bundle saw Forza Motorsport 5 re-enter the charts at No.12.

The exclusives keep coming after that. The PS4-only Spider-Man drops from No.2 to No.4, whereas Switch exclusive Super Mario Party makes its debut at No.5.

Other new games in the charts include Sega's First of the North Star: Lost Paradise on PS4 at No.21, and PSVR game Astro Bot Rescue Mission at No.22.

Here is the UKIE/GFK top ten for the week ending October 6th, 2018: