EA Sports FC 24 is the second-biggest boxed game launch of 2023 here in the UK, though physical sales are down by 30 percent on last year's FIFA 23.

The rebranded FIFA bumped boxed game juggernaut Hogwarts Legacy into third place in terms of the biggest 2023 UK physical game launches. Only The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has sold more.

While boxed sales are declining across the board, annual mass market titans FIFA and Call of Duty have held onto a sizable - if shrinking - slice of physical sales. A further drop in boxed numbers this year was somewhat inevitable, though a 30 percent fall is something of a jump.

As noted by Eurogamer sister site GamesIndustry.biz, EA Sports has likely seen some impact by the loss of its widely-recognised FIFA branding - despite heavy marketing and promotion of the new EA Sports FC moniker.

This year's offering mixes women footballers into Ultimate Team for the first time, among other changes - though Eurogamer's review of the game found plenty of familiarity.

"With the license gone this is the beginning of a new era, but it feels like business as usual - for better and for worse," Josh Wise wrote in Eurogamer's EA Sports FC 24 review.