Look at how digital changes the UK charts

A new GSD chart shows just how different the UK charts will look when download data is included.

The firm (which was set up by European trade body ISFE and operated by B2Boost) released its first official UK chart last week, counting date from boxed games retailers to reveal that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was No.1, just ahead of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and FIFA 20.

However, GSD also publishes a digital chart, which arrives later in the week. The digital chart counts data supplied directly from a selection of publishers (namely Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Codemasters, EA, Focus Home Interactive, Koch Media, Microsoft, Milestone, Paradox, Sega, Sony, Square Enix, Take-Two, Ubisoft and Warner Bros). It therefore doesn't cover the entire market. Indeed, notably Nintendo is missing entirely, so no Switch games are included in the digital chart.

The digital chart for the first week of the year has just arrived. And although it's not perfect, it does show us just how digital games are performing and how radically different the charts might look when download sales are factored in.

For instance, the digital chart below sees big sales for the likes of GTA V, Rainbow Six: Siege, Star Wars Battlefront II, Monopoly Plus and Spider-Man. And it would make quite a difference on the Top Ten.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would still have been No.1 with digital sales included, but Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order would have fallen to No.4 behind GTA V at No.2 and FIFA 20 at No.3.

Borderlands 3 sold well physically, but it was a quiet week for the game as a download and it would not have made the Top Ten. Meanwhile, both Rainbow Six: Siege, Star Wars: Battlefront II, The Sims 4, Monopoly Plus and Spider-Man will all have been Top Ten games this week.

Here is the GSD/UKIE Physical Top Ten from last week:

Here is the GSD/UKIE Digital Top Ten from last week:

Here is the GSD/UKIE Combined Top Ten from last week:

GamesIndustry.biz will continue to publish the whole market physical retail charts, and update the charts with any relevant digital information when it becomes available. We will also produce a monthly report on the entire market featuring both physical and digital data.