Dishonored 2 has weak U.K. debut

One of publisher Bethesda’s big holiday games is not performing better than its predecessor in the United Kingdom.

Dishonored 2 is selling more than a third slower than the original game did in the U.K., according to results from sales-tracking firm GfK Chart-Track. For the week ending November 12, Dishonored 2 was only the fourth best-selling game in Great Britain and Ireland. Previously released games like Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, FIFA 17, and Battlefield 1 outsold Bethesda’s open-world stealth adventure. In 2012, Dishonored debuted at No. 2 in October behind only FIFA 13. These numbers come despite the game’s quality wowing many of its players. Bethesda has introduced a prohibition on early reviews for its products, so it’s possible some may want to wait and see before buying it.

“The sole new entry in this week’s top 10 is Bethesda’s Dishonored 2,” reads a GfK Chart-Track statement. “The sequel is down 38 percent on the original Dishonored, which launched on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in 2012. Its arrival pushes another Bethesda title, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, down to No. 5.”

We asked Bethesda for comment about this data, and we’ll update this story if the company chooses to release a statement.

The U.K. is dealing with the economic uncertainty of the Brexit vote to leave the European Union, so maybe some players are only willing to spend their cash on familiar, perennial hits like Call of Duty and FIFA. And it’s possible Dishonored is performing better in other territories.

Here’s GfK’s top 10 for the week ending November 12:

1. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
2. FIFA 17
3. Battlefield 1
4. Dishonored 2
5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
6. Forza Horizon 3
7. Overwatch
8. Titanfall 2
9. Lego Dimensions
10. Star Wars: Battlefront

It’s also worth noting that the original Dishonored debuted in 2012 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. In 2012, the market had way more 360s and PS3s than it has Xbox One systems and PlayStation 4s today.

Dishonored 2 placed 4th in last week's UK retail sales chart.

Down 38% vs Dishonored 1 first week.

Not the best opening ever. pic.twitter.com/BGDqW8H6Zd

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) November 14, 2016

While it’s possible that Dishonored 2 will have a strong tail, most games do the bulk of their sales in the first two days after their launch. Debuting at No. 4 behind games that were already on the market for at least a week could be a bad sign for the sequel.