Pokémon’s latest mainline installment launched last week and it has already begun climbing the charts as both the most sold game for the week and one of the most popular titles in the franchise of all time.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a game developed by Game Freak that is part of the mainline series in the franchise. It’s drastically different from other mainline games, however. In this title, players will set out into wide-open zones where they’ll explore, capture, and battle Pokémon in a 3D world.
With such an extreme change in style, it’s no wonder fans were eager to get their hands on the game and try it out—and first-week sales reflect this. In the U.K., Legends: Arceus beat out Mario Kart 8 and Fifa 22 to claim the spot in sales this week.
According to gamesindustry, it also cemented itself as the fourth highest-selling Pokémon game of all time, beating most of the competition, including last year’s remakes, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Almost 50 percent of boxed game sales in the U.K. last week were for the new Pokémon game and even more copies were sold digitally.
Not only have sales been performing well for Game Freak’s latest endeavor, but reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. With this success for a new mainline game, we could see more upcoming games in the Pokémon franchise mirror the successful elements of Legends: Arceus. But at this early stage, no such project has been announced.
