It was a close race for Christmas No.1 this year, with Ubisoft ‘s Assisin Valhalla Creed emerging as the No.1 corporate game at the time.
This is the first time Assassin’s Creed has claimed a Christmas 1 setting (and of course, the first time for Ubisoft), and only the third time a non-FIFA or Call of Duty game has topped the charts. boxing albums in 15 years (source: GfK Entertainment).
The game went up in sales by 66% due to a price discount ahead of Christmas. The game defeated Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, which was in second place after selling so many copies last week that it made the week before. This is the first time the Black Ops subset has failed to claim Christmas No.1.
Last week ‘s big No.1 was Cyberpunk 2077, and the RPG fell 80% in sales this week and is falling to No.3. The game has received some very negative press in the last few days due to its poor performance on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. However, it is worth noting that an 80% drop in sales is not uncommon for a game like this. In fact, other games that received major pre-orders, such as The Last of Us: Part Two in the summer, and Assassin’s Valhalla Creed in November, fell both 80% and 70% respectively in the second their week.
Negative media appears to have had some impact on game sales this week, but most of the decline is expected.
The new CD game Projekt holds off FIFA 21, which has to settle for fourth place despite a 40% increase. Meanwhile, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is at No. 5 with an 11% drop in sales, the first sales decline it has received in more than a month. Only 9,000 units separate Animal Crossing at No. 5 and Assassin’s Valhalla Creed at No. 1.
This entire card is based solely on corporate sales.
Elsewhere, there were several last-minute spikes in sales across the charts, partly due to price reductions. Spider-Man: Miles Morales climbs to No.6 after a 45% sales increase, Ring Fit Adventure returns to the Top Ten at No. 9 after a 155% sales jump and Super Mario 3D All-Stars holding tenth place with 44% sales increase. Out of the top ten, Immortals: Fenyx Rising jumps to No.12 thanks to a 107% sales increase, Watch Dogs Legion is at No.14 due to a 98% sales spike, and Games Carnival returns at No. 35 with 499% sales increase. There were deals about PS4 games, too, that meant The Last of Us: Part Two is back at No.30 with a 374 |% sales spike, and Ghost of Tsushima is reaching No. 34 after sales increased 208%.
Here are the Top Ten Christmas GfKs for the week ending December 19th:
| Last week | This week | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | Valhalla Assassin’s Creed |
| 2 | 2 | Call of Duty: Cold War Black Ops |
| 1 | 3 | Cyberpunk 2077 |
| 5 | 4 | FIFA 21 |
| 3 | 5 | Crossing animals: New Horizons |
| 8 | 6 | Spiderman: Miles Morales |
| 7 | 7 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe |
| 6 | 8 | Just Dance 2021 |
| 16 | 9 | Adventure Ring Fit |
| 10 | 10 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars |
And just for fun, this is another Christmas 1 in history. FIFA (eight) and Call of Duty (eight) are the franchises with the highest Christmas No.1.
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Assassin’s Religion: Valhalla (Ubisoft) |
| 2019 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Implementation) |
| 2018 | Red Dead Solution 2 (Rockstar) |
| 2017 | Call of Duty: WWII (Activity) |
| 2016 | Call of Duty: Endless War (Implementation) |
| 2015 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Activation) |
| 2014 | Call of Duty: Advanced War (Implementation) |
| 2013 | FIFA 14 (EA) |
| 2012 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Activation) |
| 2011 | Elder V Scrolls: Skyrim (Bethesda) |
| 2010 | Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activation) |
| 2009 | Call of Duty: Modern War 2 (Execution) |
| 2008 | FIFA 09 (EA) |
| 2007 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Implementation) |
| 2006 | FIFA 07 (EA) |
| 2005 | Need for distance: most wanted (EA) |
| 2004 | Required Distance: Underground 2 (EA) |
| 2003 | Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (EA) |
| 2002 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar) |
| 2001 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (EA) |
| 2000 | Who wants to be a millionaire (Eidos) |
| 1999 | Tomb Raider 4: The Last Show (Eidos) |
| 1998 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo) |
| 1997 | FIFA: Road Cup To World 98 (EA) |
| 1996 | FIFA 97 (EA) |
| 1995 | Soccer FIFA 96 (EA) |
| 1994 | Soccer FIFA 95 (EA) |
| 1993 | FIFA International Soccer (EA) |
| 1992 | Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Sega) |
| 1991 | WWF Wrestlemania (Cuan) |
| 1990 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirrorsoft) |
| 1989 | Chase Headquarters (Ocean) |
| 1988 | Operation Wolf (Cuan) |
| 1987 | Run Out (Sega) |
| 1986 | Gauntlet (US Gold) |
| 1985 | Commando (Elite) |
| 1984 | Ghostbusters (Activity) |