The number of games downloaded over Black Friday jumped by nearly 50% over the same period in 2019, the latest GSD data shows.
It's in contrast to the 20% drop in physical game sales over the Black Friday week. Overall (boxed and digital combined) 1.85 million games were sold over the popular sales period, which is down by under 1.5% compared with the same timeframe last year.
Although Black Friday certainly had an impact on the increase in games sales, the big winner was actually Football Manager 2021, which ended the week as the best-selling digital game. The Sega and Sports Interactive title was released last week, and combined physical/digital sales has the game up 2.5% over the launch of the previous game in the series.
Otherwise, the chart is a conventional one. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War slips to No.2 after a 58% drop in sales week-on-week, FIFA 21 is just behind at No.3 with a 31.1% sales increase, while GTA 5 re-enters the Top Five at No.4 after a 64% jump in sales week-on-week. Assassin Creed Valhalla takes a fall to No.5 due to a 44% drop in sales, but it's otherwise a good week for the Assassin's brand, with Assassin's Creed Odyssey at No.7 after a 184% sales jump, and Assassin's Creed Origins at No.15 following a 192% increase in weekly sales.
Other big winners in the digital charts this week includes Rainbow Six Siege at No.9 (sales up 130%), Star Wars Squadrons at No.11 (up 91%), Borderlands 3 at No.13 (up 165%), Red Dead Redemption 2 at No.13 (up 136%), Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled at No.14 (up 105%) and Spyro Reignited Trilogy at No.16 (up 177%).

Digital Black Friday sales jump almost 50% over 2019 l UK Download Charts | GamesIndustry.biz