The sales of video games in the UK decreased in February, but Helldivers 2 remains a standout.
The success of Helldivers 2 has been widely assumed since it launched last month, but now we have some actual numbers to support it.
According to data from GSD, which tracks all physical sales and most digital game sales from major publishers with some exceptions (notably Nintendo), a total of 2.77 million video games were sold in the UK during February 2024.
This indicates a 5.5% decrease compared to the same period last year, which is not surprising given the release of Hogwarts Legacy in February 2023. These numbers, however, do not include Palworld as the game’s developer, Pocketpair, is not part of the GSD system.
What is evident, though, is the success of Helldivers 2. The sci-fi shooter sequel topped the charts in February and its sales have continued to grow week after week, which is unusual in the gaming industry.
According to GSD figures, sales for Helldivers 2 increased by almost 115% in its second week, only to grow again by nearly 21% in its third week. It’s a hit on both PlayStation 5 and PC too, with 57% of sales being on the former.
As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Helldivers 2’s sales were only 28% lower than Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 in its first three weeks – which is impressive when you consider how Helldivers was practically an unknown IP a few months ago.
Elsewhere in the UK chart, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League peaked at number four, with its sales being 20% lower than Gotham Knights and Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy in the same period.
The other notable new entry is Skull And Bones which debuted at number eight – a low position for what Ubisoft describes as a ‘quadruple-A’ game.
Regarding hardware, 95,855 games consoles were sold in February, a decrease of 33% from the year before, according to Gfk data. Sony’s PlayStation 5 is the leading platform, but sales were down 2% from last month and 28% from the previous year.
Sales for hardware overall are down 29% in the UK so far this year, with the Nintendo Switch in second place and Xbox Series X/S still in third.
Despite Suicide Squad’s poor sales, Warner Bros. recently announced its intention to focus more on live service games in the future – as companies continue to pursue the financial success of titles like Helldivers 2 and Fortnite.
You can check out the top 10 best-selling games in February below.
Email , leave a comment below, , and sign-up to our newsletter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
