The UK chart this week sees Far Cry New Dawn and Metro Exodus sales soar to the top. However, the biggest stories of the chart this week go beyond the face value of the line-up. Perhaps the most notable omission in this week of crowded releases is Crackdown 3.
Far Cry New Dawn and Metro Exodus took first and second place, respectively, but their actual success isn’t quite so clear. Both games performed interestingly in comparison to their series’ predecessors. Far Cry New Dawn saw its physical sales take a massive hit compared to both Far Cry 5 and Far Cry Primal, despite debuting at the top of the chart. New Dawn’s launch sales are down a staggering 86.5 percent from the fifth full installment in the series. Even putting the new release head-to-head with another Far Cry spin-off Primal, New Dawn sold four times fewer physical units in its opening week.
Looking to the past provides a much better view for Deep Silver’s Metro series. Metro Exodus sales were significantly better in its first week than its predecessor from the last generation, Metro Last Light. If it is pivotal to take into account the trend of rising digital sales in the industry for seemingly underperforming games, then it is notable how well Exodus has performed in boxed sales in this new environment. Metro Exodus wasn’t far from claiming the top spot either. Metro Exodus sales only trailed Far Cry New Dawn by 2,000 units.
Just outside the top 10 at number 13 was Crackdown 3. While this can be interpreted as underperformance, many have viewed Crackdown 3 as a game perfect for the Xbox Game Pass subscription service and played the game via this service. Xbox Game Pass sales do not impact physical sales numbers, providing some explanation for Crackdown 3’s absence in the chart.
If early reviews and its performance in this week’s chart hasn’t convinced you to give Metro Exodus a try, we provided our thoughts on why the Metro series provides a unique experience.
