The UK retail chart is in, revealing a few surprising new arrivals and re-entries. Some are due to Amazon’s recent Big Deal sale, while others are seemingly down to dwindling physical sales numbers.
CI Games’ Lords of the Fallen was the highest charting new arrival, taking #4 in the all formats chart. This Unreal Engine 5-powered Soulslike arrived to a mixed reception, with technical hiccups allegedly mostly to blame. It may not stick around the chart for long.
After being discounted to £19.99 on Amazon last week, the Ubisoft published Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope returned to the chart at #5. Just Dance 2023 meanwhile re-entered to #12.
Then at #6 it’s the debut of Red Dead Redemption’s belated retail version, available on PS4 and Switch. The single format charts are currently unavailable, but the smart money is on the Switch version proving the most popular.
At #8 it’s another new arrival, and a surprise one at that – Outright Games’ The Grinch: Christmas Adventures, which again, we’d wager the Switch version was the biggest selling. Incidentally, fellow licensed game Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx turned up at #35, presumably due to a price cut.
The catchily named Fortnite Transformers Pack was the fourth highest charting new release after LotF, RDR, and The Grinch, making #17. Transformers: EarthSpark – Expedition, last week’s other Transformers tie-in, was a no show however.
Finally for new releases, Forza Motorsport parked up at #23 – meaning it was outsold by The Grinch. But in all seriousness, the fact that it’s on Game Pass likely prevented it from charting higher.
The top 40 saw a few more re-entries too, including LEGO Marvel Super Heroes on Switch at #32 and EA’s Dead Space remake at #33.
With four newcomers in the top ten, there’s an unsurprising shake-up at the top of the chart. EA Sports FC 24 and Assassin’s Creed Mirage held onto no.1 and #2, Star Wars Jedi Survivor climbed from #7 to #3. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe dropped to #7, Hogwarts Legacy fell to #9, while Minecraft took #10. Nothing too surprising, perhaps, but Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Mortal Kombat 1, and Detective Pikachu Returns were all ushered out of the top ten to make way for the new arrivals.