According to data from Ukie, Borderlands 3 effortlessly eclipsed Gears 5 in the UK retail charts this week (via MCV).
Gearbox’s spacey and irreverent RPG overtook The Coalition’s pretty and powerful third-person shooter by quite a ways. The former outperformed the latter by more than four times — that’s including all platforms — and sold 77 per cent more units when comparing just the Xbox One alone.
Saddeningly, Gears 5 didn’t hold a candle to the previous entry to the series. It sold 78 per cent fewer units than Gears of War 4, which is a notably significant decrease, as digital shift would estimate a decline from 15 to 20 per cent in sales numbers. It’s important to consider the effect of the Xbox Game Pass on Gears 5, though. Xbox Game Pass offers all of Microsoft’s first-party games for an appreciably discounted subscription price. Gears 5 knocked Fortnite off its throne to become the Most Played title on the Xbox Live listings, so these numbers may not be as concerning as first thought. Additionally, players might pick up Gears 5 during the upcoming holiday season, boosting its sales once again.
With regards to Borderlands 3, it has achieved the ‘best numbers in Gearbox history’ on its launch weekend. It had been seven years since the release of Borderlands 2, and The Handsome Collection revamped the game’s visuals, bundled in its DLC, and offered Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel as well. It did seem that fans were chomping at the bit for a new core Borderlands experience, and the proof is in the pudding. The pudding is the UK retail charts.
Gears 5 debuts as the #1 most played game on the Xbox Store (only checked US, Mexico, UK, Germany), even beating Fortnite. What is even more impressive is that this is the Ultimate Edition of Gears 5. Game Pass doing work. https://t.co/vqnWKEE5rf pic.twitter.com/Ljd7iY0LNe
— Klobrille (@klobrille) September 11, 2019
