GAME's prices now appear on our game pages. So we put each new copy at GAME next to the same game on its console's own download store: 146 comparisons across 132 games.
GAME was cheaper a little over half the time
| Console family | Games compared | GAME cheaper | Download cheaper | Same price | Median gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation (PS4, PS5) | 34 | 20 (59%) | 12 | 2 | £5.00 |
| Xbox (Series) | 26 | 15 (58%) | 8 | 3 | £4.99 |
| Switch (Switch, Switch 2) | 86 | 44 (51%) | 39 | 3 | £0.74 |
| All | 146 | 79 (54%) | 59 | 8 | £2.50 |
The median gap is the download price minus GAME's price for the middle game in each group: on PlayStation and Xbox the download typically cost about £5 more, and on Switch the two were close.
The biggest savings at GAME
| Game | Console | GAME | Download | You save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immortals of Aveum | PS5 | £13.00 | £69.99 | £56.99 |
| Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | PS5 | £35.00 | £69.99 | £34.99 |
| Returnal | PS5 | £35.00 | £69.99 | £34.99 |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 | Switch 2 | £28.00 | £59.99 | £31.99 |
| Horizon Forbidden West | PS5 | £14.00 | £44.99 | £30.99 |
| Tales of Berseria Remastered | Switch | £19.99 | £49.99 | £30.00 |
| Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion | Xbox Series | £30.00 | £59.99 | £29.99 |
| Hell Is Us | Xbox Series | £23.00 | £49.99 | £26.99 |
| Hell Is Us | PS5 | £23.00 | £49.99 | £26.99 |
| Lego Horizon Adventures | PS5 | £12.00 | £34.99 | £22.99 |
None of these downloads was on sale on the day we checked: each was at its usual store price.
When the download won
The download was cheaper in 59 comparisons, and in 23 of them the download was on sale that day. Four of the five widest gaps were boxed Fangamer editions of small indie games, at two to more than three times the download price:
| Game | Console | GAME | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollow Knight | Switch 2 | £36.99 | £10.99 |
| Stardew Valley | Switch 2 | £36.99 | £10.99 |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | Switch 2 | £41.99 | £16.75 |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | PS5 | £36.99 | £15.99 |
| Super Bomberman Collection | Switch | £34.99 | £15.98 |
What this means if you buy games
For big PlayStation and Xbox games, GAME's boxed copy was often well below the store's usual price. For small games, and for anything on sale on the console store, the download can be the cheaper way in. Each game's page shows GAME next to the stores and other shops, and the lowest price we've recorded.
How we counted
For each game we took GAME's cheapest new, in-stock copy for each console family and the price of the same game on that family's store (PlayStation Store for PS4 and PS5, Xbox Store for Xbox, Nintendo eShop for Switch and Switch 2). To compare like with like, we left out 31 pairs where either side was a special edition (deluxe, collector's, ultimate, definitive, launch or similar). Pre-owned copies and pre-orders are not in GAME's figures here. The store prices were checked up to a week before GAME's feed, so a sale that started or ended in between can change a single result.
Using these figures
You are welcome to quote these figures or reuse the chart. Please credit GameShelfClub and link to this page. For questions about the data, use the contact details on our about page.