"Tis clearly the season to be murderin" as the UK retail charts see three first-person shooter games in the top five, thanks to the successful launch of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. And you could increase that to four if you count The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Special Edition's first-person perspective.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare's entry into the chart has pushed Battlefield 1 down the charts and is the second largest launch of the year in the UK, just behind FIFA 17. Despite this success, the keen-eyed people over at Chart-Tracks have noted that sales are down by 48.4% on last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Chart-Tracks note this down to a variety of factors, including the lack of a PS3 and Xbox 360 version of the game, and the original negative outcry against the title back in June. Though even with this in mind, sales on the current gen consoles are still down by 43.6%. One must also imagine that the success of Battlefield 1 has had some impact, despite the radically different settings.
As mentioned, Battlefield 1 drops down to second place in the charts, seating just above FIFA 17, the football game holding on as Skyrim Special Edition leapfrogs down from second place into fourth. Titanfall 2 also drops a place, just about hanging on in the top five.
It's a mixed bag of success and failure below the top five. Annual soccer management simulator Football Manager 2017 debuts at number six in the chart, likely ready for another year of holding steady in its popular UK market. A massive marketing push has seen Skylanders Imaginators sky-rocket up the charts from 19th place to a very respectable 7th, thanks to a 131% increase in sales.
Finally, Mafia III drops two places to eighth position, while Grand Theft Auto V and Forza Horizon 3 respectively hold onto their 9th and 10th position.
Check out the charts for yourself and let us know what you think of these developments in the comments down below.
Quick take
A drop in sales for Infinite Warfare versus Black Ops 3 is likely no big problem, when considering how popular a game Infinite Warfare's predecessor was. With that in mind, a 50% drop in sales shouldn't be any worry for the series, even if it does make a few suits nervous. Poor old Titanfall 2 though.
How big of an impact do you think having three AAA FPSs release very close to one another has had on their individual sales? Who's hurt the most? What other factors are there to consider?
