Starfield – even with Bethesda in its corner, Microsoft can’t quite overtake Sony and the PS5 (Picture: Bethesda)

Whereas console sales dipped in the US this September, they increased by 44% in the UK, with Xbox seeing the biggest boost.

Yesterday, it was announced that Starfield had topped the charts in the US, but proven less successful across Europe , with Xbox console sales dropping throughout the month of September.

So, how did it fare in the UK? The answer depends on your perspective. While it wasn’t the best-selling game for September – it came second to EA Sports FC 24 – that still seems good considering how much the UK loves its football.

Plus, while two thirds of its unit sales were for the PC version, Starfield’s launch still benefitted Xbox console sales, which jumped by an impressive 136% compared to August. Unfortunately for Microsoft, this still only made it the second most popular console of the month, losing out to the PlayStation 5.

PlayStation 5 sales, by comparison, were up 24%, which is interesting since there were no major console exclusives out that month. We can only speculate, but the boost in sales could be attributed to multiplatform games like EA Sports FC 24 and preparation for the launch of Spider-Man 2 .

It’ll be interesting to see if and how PlayStation 5 sales continue to improve once the new slim model launches. They’re expected to arrive in November, although they’ll cost exactly the same as the current model.

Microsoft must at least be pleased with the Xbox Series X/S’s improved sales, but it’s difficult to tell if it’s at all disappointed that, after all the trouble of making Starfield an exclusive, the Xbox still can’t catch up with the PlayStation 5 even for a month.

Starfield’s also out of the top 30 sellers on Steam , whereas less recent games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Hogwarts Legacy manage to sit just outside of the top 10.

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Hardware sales on the whole are doing much better in the UK than the US, jumping 44% altogether compared to the US’s 8% drop. Even the Nintendo Switch saw an 18% increase as it sits in third place behind the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Other September launches to break into the UK’s top 10, according to GamesIndustry.biz , include Mortal Kombat 1 in third place, NBA 2K24 in fourth place, and The Crew Motorfest in tenth place.




UK GSD video game sales charts - September 2023
EA Sports FC 24
Starfield
Mortal Kombat 1
NBA 2K24
Hogwarts Legacy
Payday 3
Grand Theft Auto 5
Red Dead Redemption 2
Minecraft
The Crew Motorfest




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