Battlefield 5 physical sales down more than half on Battlefield 1

But it's not a clear picture.

News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief

Updated on 27 Nov 2018

Battlefield 5 officially launched in shops last Tuesday, 20th November - enough time to give it five days on sale during its launch week. But it sold fewer than half the physical copies Battlefield 1 did upon its launch - when that was only on sale three days.

It sounds like bad news for Battlefield 5, and it is - but there are a couple of caveats which make it harder to tell by how much Battlefield 5 was down.

Battlefield 5 was available digitally earlier if you bought the pricier Deluxe Edition, which granted access on 15th November. And you could gain access earlier still if you subscribed to Origin Access Premier, which only launched this year. And then there's the general rise in digital game sales over physical copies. As ever, UK numbers company Chart-Track only counts boxed copies sold.

But it's hard to see how Battlefield 5 can't be down significantly on Battlefield 1 - even with all of the above taken into consideration. And, for comparison, it sold fewer than half the physical copies of this year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.

Physical sales of Battlefield 5 were down even on the unpopular spin-off Battlefield Hardline, though it is conceivable the BF5's digital sales made up that gap.

Battlefield 5 struggled through a shaky beta and subsequent delay to try and differentiate itself from Battlefield 1. Its battle royale mode - something COD has at launch - is not due to arrive until March next year.

"Battlefield 5 is a mess," Martin Robinson wrote in Eurogamer's Battlefield 5 review. "It's the glitchiest, most technically troubled DICE's sandbox multiplayer has been since the infamous launch of Battlefield 4, and even the launch itself is all over the place."

Elsewhere in the chart, Farming Simulator launched in 16th place, while Bendy and the Ink Machine launched in 30th.

Black Friday week sales boosted numerous games - especially FIFA 19, which managed to reclaim the top spot.