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Metroid Dread has become the fastest-selling game in the series' history over the weekend, and it's not even close.
Last week was one of the busiest for new video games so far in 2021. That has resulted in a very different-looking UK boxed chart this week. While a new release didn't manage to dethrone FIFA 22 from the number one spot, numbers two and three are new games. Unsurprisingly, one of those games is Metroid Dread.
There has been a lot of hype for Dread. That'll happen when fans of the series are made to wait almost two decades for a sequel. Despite not making it all the way to number one, Dread has already become the fastest-selling Metroid game ever in the UK. What makes that even more impressive is at this moment in time, that doesn't even include its digital sales which haven't been revealed yet.
Dread has easily outsold Nintendo Wii's Metroid Prime 3: Corruption during its opening weekend, and more than tripled the sales of the last 2D Metroid game, Samus Returns. The only game stopping Dread from being the best-selling new release last week was Far Cry 6. Ubisoft's latest offering took the week's silver medal, though its reviews aren't nearly as impressive as Dread's.
Further down the chart you'll find two more new games before leaving the top ten. Alan Wake Remastered debuts at number five, while Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is in at number eight. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl also launched last week, but its physical version won't be here until November hence it not yet finding a place in the boxed chart. The arrival of the OLED model also resulted in a number of Switch games receiving sales boosts.
Dread is the big winner of the week though, especially on the Switch. The game has been on Nintendo's docket since the mid-2000s. However, it has taken until now for its developers to have the hardware available to do it justice. Boasting some of the best bosses in series history, most to have played it so far agree that it's the perfect way to tie up that particular thread in Samus Aran's story.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz