The UK download chart is dead

The UK PC download chart has collapsed, MCV understands.

It officially launched in May last year, but hasn’t been seen since MCV published the statistics for Q2 2013 last October.

The chart was put together by UKIE and stat giant IPSOS. To build it they would receive data from publishers such as Sega, EA, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Warner and 2K.

However, a number of companies would not share their data, including Activision and Bethesda. And MCV has been told that the project was proving a burden to the publishers that had committed to it.

Various PC digital retailers – including Steam and Green Man Gaming – all report sales data in different ways, making compiling the figures time-consuming. This has made it very difficult for UKIE to put out a regular chart.

As a result, the trade body has put the download chart on the back burner, and will now work on a new project to discover the size of the PC download market. It hopes to bring the chart back in the future.

The news comes as a blow to the global games industry. The absence of figures is putting the market under unnecessary strain as it struggles to attract support from various Government bodies and investors.

Those looking to invest in digital games companies are instead forced to seek out alternative data sources to justify their investment.

Head of digital for investment firm Mercia Fund Management (and former Sega chief) Mike Hayes said: The lack of cohesive agglomerated digital data in the games market may be a challenge for some, but there is enough proprietary and benchmark data around to enable good decisions to be made.”