Best selling 2025 game in Europe comes from a 2024 release

A European sales chart shows a 2024 release leads new releases in 2025 while the overall year is still led by a 2024 title.

Best selling 2025 game in Europe comes from a 2024 release

The Game Business has published a top 20 chart for Europe up to July 28, based on data from 15 major markets via GSD. It shows the best selling new game of 2025 so far is Assassin’s Creed Shadows, a title released in 2024, while EA Sports FC 25 holds the overall year lead, having come out in September 2024.

There are caveats: Mario Kart World is counted only for physical copies in GSD’s chart, and Nintendo’s Switch 2 bundle data aren’t fully disclosed. Nintendo’s quarterly report notes 1.34 million Switch 2 consoles sold in Europe by end of June, but it does not specify how many came with Mario Kart World or how many digital copies moved on the Switch 2 eShop. Overall, 71 million PC and console games were sold across the major European markets this year so far, with 74% of those sales digital, a 6% drop year over year.

The numbers reveal a market that moves as much by timing and distribution as by headline launches. A 2024 title can outrun 2025 newcomers if it sits at the right moment in a bustling holiday window and benefits from bundles or a large install base. The data gaps around digital versus physical copies show how trajectory can mislead without a complete picture from every platform. In short, the chart is as much about packaging and reach as about pure popularity.

Highlights

The year’s chart will keep changing as new titles arrive and players shop across bundles and platforms.