FIFA 21 Has Biggest Boxed Launch Of 2021 In UK, But Switch Version Flops

FIFA is a big deal in the UK, and the launch of FIFA 21 has done big business in the UK--with some caveats. FIFA 21 is the biggest physical game launch in the UK this year, but sales are down compared to FIFA 20, and the Switch version has sold poorly.

Gamesindustry.biz is reporting that sales on FIFA 21's boxed copies are down 42% on boxed sales of FIFA 20. There's a few potential reasons for that--the looming next generation of systems (which will bring new versions of FIFA 21), the growth of the digital market, and the COVID-19 pandemic making players less likely to travel to a store to buy the game all factors in.

It's unknown how well the game has sold digitally, but this is still a big launch, overtaking the launch sales of The Last of Us Part II and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (both of which are single console exclusives).

The Switch version, however, has bombed. The PS4 version of the game accounted for 62% of sales, while 36% of sales were on Xbox One, but just 2% of sales were for the Switch version.

Of course, there's a good reason for the Switch version to have not sold--it's a Legacy Edition, meaning it's the exact same game as the last three FIFA titles on Switch, albeit with updated rosters. The Switch version does not have enough reviews for a rating on Metacritic yet, but the user rating is down to 0.1/10. Hopefully EA will consider releasing a more substantial update for the Switch version of FIFA 22.

Although the game will likely sell well on PS5 and Xbox Series X when those consoles launch too, it's worth noting that you'll get a free upgrade to the new versions if you buy the PS4 or Xbox One version.

Here's the rest of the UK boxed sales charts for the week ending October 10. It's a good week for EA, with the company claiming the top two spots; Nintendo, meanwhile, has four first-party games on the list.

1. FIFA 21 (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
2. Star Wars: Squadrons (PS4, Xbox One)
3. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About TIme (PS4, Xbox One)
4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
5. Super Mario 3D All-Stars (Switch)
6. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Switch)
7. Minecraft (Switch)
8. Minecraft Dungeons (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
9. Marvel's Avengers (PS4, Xbox One)
10. Ring Fit Adventure (Switch)