God of War Ragnarök sales break franchise launch record in the UK

God of War Ragnarök has made a blockbuster start in the UK, becoming the fastest-selling entry in the series to date.

The PS4 and PS5 game became the 13th God of War title to be released in the UK when it arrived for PS4 and PS5 on Wednesday.

And according to data from charts firm GfK, which was provided to GamesIndustry.biz, its day one physical sales were greater than the full week launch sales of every previous series entry.

Prior to Ragnarök’s release, its predecessor, 2018’s God of War, was the fastest-selling series entry.

“It became the best-seller at that time in terms of week one sales and also lifetime sales for this franchise,” said GfK boss Dorian Bloch. “In 2018, God of War ranked at No.5 by units and revenue on Sony formats.”

Reporting its quarterly earnings this month, Sony said the series reboot was one of the biggest titles ever released exclusively for PlayStation, with 23 million sales, and that it expected a similar performance from Ragnarök.

GfK said 55% of UK PS5 console sales this week are part of the God of War Ragnarök hardware bundle.

VGC’s God of War Ragnarök review labelled it one of the best PlayStation games ever.

“God of War Ragnarök is an incredibly special game,” we wrote. “It’s vital in a way few releases are. With captivating performances that carry an amazing story to a jaw-dropping final act, it’s a game that achieves everything it sets out to do to the absolute highest standard.”

At the time of publishing, the game has a score of 94 on review aggregation site Metacritic, making it the second highest-rated new title of the year.