GfK has just revealed the top 30 highest earning video game franchises in the history of UK boxed sales.
According to the data from 1995, the following 30 games have generated more than £12.7bn in revenue in the past 27 years.
FIFA is the No.1 UK brand which is not surprising to anyone. The franchise has released 50 games in little less than 30 years and managed to beat Call of Duty which came in at No.2 and has had 32 games released over almost 20 years.
Nowadays, FIFA is more or less an annualized franchise, however, there have been years that have seen multiple releases of FIFA games such as in 2006 when FIFA 07, FIFA Street 2, FIFA World Cup Germany 2006, and FIFA Manager 07 were released.
At the same time, Call of Duty peaked back in 2010 by releasing Call of Duty: Black Ops and 2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Nintendo’s Mario franchise came in at No.3 and covers 109 video games with some of its biggest boxed sellers being Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 8, and New Super Mario Bros.
The fourth place belongs to Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto franchise. While it is true that all GTA games were popular, GTA 5 is one that stands out among them. In fact, GTA 5 has accounted for 40% of all boxed sales of the franchise.
Eleven games in the Top 30 are licensed titles such as LEGO, Star Wars, Tom Clancy, and Harry Potter. These titles combined with the sports brands such as WWE, F1, PGA Tour, and FIFA, have generated over £2.8 billion over the course of 27 years.
Dorian Bloch, GfK’s senior client insight director for gaming stated that this is a fascinating list and that anyone who has been following the development of the video game industry as he has will no doubt show little surprise at the sheer value, size, and breadth of the market.
He continued by saying that what was once seen as a niche sector is now an unquestionably mainstream market that generates billions in revenue annually and that characters in these games have become much-loved heroes, from Lara Croft to Luigi and Mario, to Sonic the Hedgehog.
He concluded by stating that terms used in these franchises have entered our vocabulary and that there are more than a few gamers who could navigate their way around the outskirts of San Francisco from their time at the wheel of a stolen car in GTA.
Top 30 best-selling video game brands in the UK by Revenue:
