F1 2022 boxed launch sales fall as the franchise pivots to digital | UK Boxed Charts

F1 2022 was No.1 in the UK boxed charts last week, with launch sales down slightly over F1 2021.

In fact, it is the 16th biggest launch for an F1 game in terms of boxed sales, behind Formula One 2001, which launched on PS1 and PS2 back in 2001.

It's been a steady decline in recent years for the F1 franchise at boxed retail. F1 2018 was the 12th biggest F1 launch, F1 was is the 13th and F1 2021 was the 14th. The game that bucked the trend was F1 2020, which comes in at No.8.

All data is courtesy of GfK.

Of course, this is partially due to a rise in digital sales. And that was especially true for F1 2021. In terms of boxed sales, that game doesn't even make the Top Ten of F1 titles. But when you factor in digital, it is actually the third biggest F1 game in UK history (GSD data). The best-selling F1 game remains F1 2010, followed by F1 2011.

Digital sales for F1 2022 will be made available later in the week.

In the UK, F1 is a lucrative series, and is actually the 23rd biggest franchise in the UK. In terms of boxed sales alone, the series has generated over £205 million in revenue.

Elsewhere in the UK charts this week, Horizon Forbidden West remains at No.2 but saw a big 94% sales increase, which was driven by the arrival of more PS5 stock.

Nintendo Switch Sports is back in the Top Three at No.3 after a 42% sales spike.

Meanwhile, last week's new No.1 -- Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes on Nintendo Switch -- drops to No.14 after a 76% sales tumble week-on-week.

Here is the GfK UK Boxed Top Ten for the week ending July 2: