According to GamesIndustry.biz, within its first week of release, Starfield officially became the fifth fastest-selling game among games released in Europe in 2023, topping it as the biggest Xbox launch of the current generation.
Starfield also managed to become the fastest-selling new game of the year for the Xbox platform, but it is stated that Starfield was technically available a week earlier for those who purchased the Digital Premium Edition, meaning it had the advantage of a few extra days of sales. Additionally, data from those playing through the subscription service on Xbox Game Pass is not included here.
Starfield is the fifth fastest-selling game across Europe this year. Starfield was technically on sale for longer due to the early access. But this is purely sales, no Game Pass data. Starfield comes ahead of Forza Horizon 5 as the biggest Xbox launch this generation (GSD data) pic.twitter.com/T9ywddGmDZ
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) September 18, 2023
The game’s launch sales beat out some of the biggest games of 2023 on other platforms, like Resident Evil 4 and Final Fantasy 16, but it’s still the year’s biggest hit with the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Diablo 4, and Hogwarts Legacy. it fell short of other massively successful games. But Forza surpassed Horizon 5 to make it the biggest Xbox launch of this console generation in Europe.
Playground Games’ racing game Forza Horizon 5 was released in 2021, and even days before its official launch, more than a million players purchased the game to gain early access. Earlier this year, 18 months after the game was released, it became a huge success, reaching 30 million players, according to the game’s Hall of Fame leaderboard.