Hogwarts Legacy is the biggest Harry Potter game launch of all time | UK Boxed Charts

Hogwarts Legacy has got off to a very big start at UK games retail, and is comfortably the No.1 game of the week (GfK data).

It is the biggest launch for any Harry Potter game ever, with sales 64% higher than the previous best -- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone from 2001. In fact, the biggest week for a Harry Potter game wasn't a launch week at all, it was the second week of the Philosopher’s Stone (due to hype around the movie). Even compared to that week, Hogwarts Legacy was still bigger by 2%.

This result is more impressive when you consider this is just for physical sales. Hogwarts Legacy would have received a substantial number of digital downloads (that data will come later in the week), whereas Philosopher’s Stone didn't have any digital sales back in 2001. Therefore, the success will be even more pronounced once all the data is in.

Harry Potter is the 26th biggest video game franchise in the UK, just behind the Forza series but ahead of The Legend of Zelda.

Compared to last year's big fantasy release, which was Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy's first week sales are up 80%.

82% of Hogwarts Legacy's sales were on PS5, with the remaining 18% on Xbox Series S and X. Digital sales will likely reduce that gap between the two platforms as Xbox's digital share tends to be higher than it is in physical (in part due to the popularity of the digital-only Xbox Series S).

Expect the game to continue to hover around the charts, with the PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions of the game due to arrive over the coming months.

Holding firm at No.2 this week is Sony’s God of War Ragnarok, with sales up 10%. The action adventure PlayStation game is part of a very popular PS5 hardware bundle.

FIFA 23 slips from No.1 to No.3 after a small 3% drop in sales week-on-week, while Mario Kart 8: Deluxe is still at No.4, despite sales falling 10%.

There was some pricing activity on Nintendo Switch games this week, which has seen games rise up the charts. Animal Crossing: New Horizons jumps seven places to No.5 after a 40% jump in sales week-on-week. New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe leaps eight places to No.10, Mario Strikers: Battle League Football rushes up 25 places due to a 197% sales increase, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury grows 68% and goes from No.27 to No.15, Mario Tennis Aces re-enters the chart at No.17 (sales up 182%) and Luigi's Mansion 3 is at No.20 (sales up 88%).

Recent release Dead Space falls from No.3 to No.7 after a 52% drop in sales, while Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake drops from No.10 to No.34 in its second week after a 60% sales drop.

Here is the GfK UK Boxed Top Ten for the week ending February 11, 2023:

Biggest Harry Potter Game Launches (GfK data)

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