UK boxed game sales collapse as release schedule dries up

The UK games market plunged to its lowest figure all year last month as the number of new releases slowed dramatically.

Only 7.9m was made in revenue for the week ending April 26th – a fall of 34 per cent week-on-week – according to GfK Chart-Track.

The biggest launches of May do not arrive until the end of the month – Watch Dogs on May 27th and Mario Kart 8 on May 30th.

The lack of next-gen titles has taken its toll on the boxed game market, but retailers have been buoyed by strong sales of PS4 and Xbox One.

MCV understands a number of big games will be revealed at E3 filling the currently empty release slate.

One retailer told MCV: The announcements seem to be coming later this year. We’re still waiting on news about this year’s Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed. This E3 should be a special one.”