Planet Coaster developer Frontier refocusing on sims after low sales of Warhammer RTS

While it seems the UK's physical games top 10 is pretty much nailed down through the rest of 2023, one late arrival has added a last minute splash of colour to the picture. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora launched last week, and it's managed to secure a spot within the list of bestsellers at number five. The four games above it would be tough to beat, especially given the time of year.

Modern Warfare 3 topped the UK software sales chart in November, but it fell significantly short of the launch enjoyed by last year’s Call of Duty game.

The latest UK physical sales charts are in for the past week, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has debuted in fifth place. Digital sales aren’t included, and launching on December 7th means fewer days of tracking. We’ll need to wait and see how its long-term sales pan out.

Ubisoft's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora had to settle for No.5 in its debut week, with EA Sports FC 2024 still holding the top spot.

isn't perfect, but it's hard to give up on. First released in 2014, but it's had regular updates and DLC drops in the decade since. The most recent DLC, , came out a few months ago in July 2023. But whether they wait anxiously for every single new release or content themselves with the base game and a wealth of player-created content, 's most ardent devotees have become inextricably attached to the game in the near-decade since its release.

Hello Games have announced Light No Fire, the Guildford, UK-based developer's most ambitious new game since 2016's space sim No Man's Sky. In development for roughly five years so far, it's an exploration-driven fantasy experience with building mechanics, a range of curious mythological creatures, and a procedurally generated open world that is apparently Earth-like in both geography and scale. Hello have just screened a trailer at this year's Game Awards. Earlier this week, they invited me down to their Guildford offices for a quick, informal chat about the game, which I am going to characterise as Fable meets Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Ubisoft's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is out fairly imminently, arriving on PS5 on 7th December. As a canon part of James Cameron's larger universe, an intriguing aspect fans can look forward to is the new creatures, characters, and storylines, which are already influencing other Avatar projects.

Short of somehow growing a Na’vi neural braid and jamming it directly into the base of James Cameron’s skull, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is pretty much your best option for taking a virtual tour of the stunning alien moon of Pandora. This open-world shooter serves up a mind bogglingly large slice of the fantastic fictional universe to explore, from staggeringly dense forest areas to picturesque open plains and properly intimidating mountain ranges both on land and suspended impossibly in the skies above. However, hidden amongst all that beauty is a disappointing amount of bloat, with copy-pasted enemy outposts and facilities that made venturing off the main story path far less rewarding than it has been in recent landmark adventures such as Elden Ring or the last two Legend of Zeldas. I still largely enjoyed the 25 hours I spent trying to fend off a resource-hungry human invasion, but I wish the environment itself had presented me with more compelling reasons to fight for it beyond its surface-level splendor.

EA Sports FC 24 remained at the top of the UK boxed charts this week, followed by Hogwarts Legacy despite a slight decrease in sales for both titles.

Anticipation continues to build as gamers are eagerly awaiting updates on the forthcoming Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. In the meantime, the base game is currently available at a discounted price in the UK. Select retailers are offering the game for a reduced rate of at least £29.99, a noteworthy markdown from the £49.99 RRP. Given the expansive nature of the game, this discount should be deemed substantial, particularly when contrasted with the potential £69.99 price tag that other publishers might command for a similar gaming experience in 2023.

UK developer Creative Assembly is going to be returning to its roots and focusing on real-time strategy titles.

Troubled developers Creative Assembly will double-down on their strength in making offline real-time strategy games, following their failed attempt to break into the competitive shooter market with extraction FPS Hyenas.