Nintendo Switch Is The Best-Selling Console In The UK In 2022, Overall Sales Down

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Nintendo Switch Arceus
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life

Looking back on the past few years, it’s been tough in the video game industry in the UK. 2022 proved to be no exception, with game sales and console sales down for most of the year compared to last year. Gamesindustry.biz shared GfK’s figures, which show an overall 6% drop in game sales for 2022, and a 29% drop in console sales.

At the last minute, the Switch outsold the PS5 to be the best-selling console of the year in the UK — despite a drop in sales of just under 28% compared to 2021. But between the Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series, only 60,000 units separated the three, so it was a close call

The best-selling game should surprise no one with FIFA 23 topping the charts, followed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. The highest charting Switch exclusive in 2022 in the UK is Nintendo Switch Sports, which sneaks just inside the top ten-selling games of the year. This doesn’t include digital sales, so who knows how many additional digital copies the game has shifted since its release in April.

Nintendo’s latest sports game is also the 4th best-selling physical game of the year, just ahead of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet (sales are counted separately for each version) are also among the year’s biggest sellers. Kirby and the Forgotten Land just missed out on the top 30, placing in 31st, with Splatoon 3 not too far behind in 38th. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Mario Strikers: Battle League placed at 62 and 80 respectively.

Here are the top 20 best-selling games in the UK for the year 2022!

There are a few really nice surprises, such as Sonic Frontiers cracking the top 20. And despite the downer news about game sales declining, new game sales have actually had a bit of a boost in 2022. 13.9 million game sales in 2022 in the UK were for brand new releases — that’s 20% more new titles sold than in 2021. Thanks to Pokémon, Elden Ring, and the like, then!

You can check out all of GfK’s stats for the UK games industry sales over at Gamesindustry.biz. How well do you think the Switch has done in the UK in 2022? Let us know down below!