In the busy corridors of British retail during the spring of 2017, a quiet but determined challenger began to make its move. For two consecutive weeks, Nintendo’s Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had been cruising effortlessly at the top of the UK physical sales charts, its colorful karts and familiar characters seeming untouchable. But a new contender was preparing to slide into pole position, and in the 19th week of that year, the gaming world witnessed a handover that would be remembered for years to come. Bethesda’s Prey, a psychological sci‑fi thriller set aboard the derelict Talos I space station, snatched the number one spot, ending the kart racer’s reign and securing something that had eluded the publisher for over eighteen months: a chart‑topping release.
It was a moment of vindication for Bethesda. The last time the company had celebrated a UK number one was way back in Week 46 of 2015, when Fallout 4 dominated the retail landscape with its post‑apocalyptic wasteland. In the intervening period, two high‑profile titles had tried and failed to capture the crown. First came DOOM, the ferocious reboot that won critical acclaim for its relentless combat and heavy metal energy, yet could only manage a runner‑up position at retail. Then followed Dishonored 2, a masterclass in stealth design and immersive world‑building, but it too found the top step of the podium frustratingly out of reach. For a publisher with such a storied back catalogue, the drought was notable, and industry observers began to wonder when—if ever—the trophy would return.
Prey’s ascent was not an overnight coup. When it debuted in Week 18, it had entered the charts at number two, bowing respectfully to the persistent popularity of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Yet momentum was clearly building. Word of mouth about its inventive Gloo Cannon, the shape‑shifting Mimics that could be any coffee cup or office chair, and the morally ambiguous choices woven into the narrative began to spread through gaming communities. In its second week, the game climbed that final rung, pushing the plumber and his mushroom kingdom companions off the top spot. For Bethesda, it was more than just a sales figure; it was a symbolic reclaiming of a position they had last held when the Commonwealth was still fresh in players’ minds.
The rest of the top five told its own story of endurance and shifting fortunes. In second place sat a true phenomenon that seemed immune to the passage of months: Grand Theft Auto V. Rockstar’s open‑world epic climbed one position from the previous week, a reminder that even in the absence of major new content, the criminal playground of Los Santos retained an almost gravitational pull on consumers walking into shops. No matter how many new titles arrived, GTA V consistently hovered near the summit, and Week 19 of 2017 was no exception.
At number three came the deposed champion, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Its drop from first was hardly a sign of weakness; rather, it demonstrated the natural ebb and flow of launch‑period excitement giving way to a steady, long‑term library sales curve. Nintendo’s hybrid console was still in its infancy, and kart racing was the perfect showcase for the system’s portability and local multiplayer charm. Even in third place, the game remained a key driver of Switch hardware adoption across the country.
Fourth position was held by EA’s perennial sporting juggernaut, FIFA 17. Football simulations have always enjoyed a special status in the UK charts, and this entry was no different. With the European club season reaching its dramatic climax in May, many fans were looking to replicate the action on their consoles, keeping FIFA 17 firmly inside the top five. Just behind it, completing the quintet, was Rocket League, which fired its boosters to climb one spot week‑on‑week. Psyonix’s car‑soccer hybrid had long shed its indie underdog label and now sat comfortably among the big‑budget heavyweights, a testament to its addictive gameplay and regular free updates.
A closer look at the top ten reveals other notable trends:
| Position | Title | Movement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prey | ↑ 1 |
| 2 | Grand Theft Auto V | ↑ 1 |
| 3 | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | ↓ 2 |
| 4 | FIFA 17 | – |
| 5 | Rocket League | ↑ 1 |
| 6 | Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | – |
| 7 | Lego Worlds | ↑ 2 |
| 8 | Horizon Zero Dawn | ↑ 1 |
| 9 | Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands | ↓ 2 |
| 10 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | ↓ 1 |
One crucial caveat that every industry analyst at the time was quick to highlight concerns the nature of the data. The UK sales charts for Week 19 of 2017—closing on May 13th—recorded only physical unit sales. In an era when digital storefronts were already swallowing an ever‑larger share of the market, this meant the snapshot was incomplete. Titles with a particularly strong digital‑first audience, such as indie darlings or multiplayer‑centric games, were likely underrepresented. Prey’s triumph was therefore a victory rooted in the traditional high street and online retail boxes, a reminder that physical collectors and late adopters still wielded considerable influence.
Looking back from the vantage point of 2026, the chart battle of that mild May week feels almost quaint. The landscape has shifted dramatically. Subscription services dominate library building, cloud streaming has eliminated the need for discs in many households, and day‑one blockbuster launches are routinely fronted by digital pre‑loads rather than midnight queue events. Yet the memory of Prey topping the UK charts endures because it encapsulated a particular moment in the industry’s transition. It was a period when physical retail was still the primary barometer of success, when a single‑player, narrative‑driven experience could topple the might of a Nintendo evergreen title, and when a publisher’s multi‑year wait for the top spot felt like an epic saga.
That week also underlines the unpredictability that makes game tracking so fascinating. Nobody would have confidently predicted, back when Fallout 4 seized number one in late 2015, that it would take until a new intellectual property about alien mimics aboard a space station to return Bethesda to the summit. Prey’s achievement, moreover, was more than a commercial footnote; it paved the way for further bold, single‑player experiments from the publisher, reinforcing the belief that there was still a large audience hungry for deep, atmospheric worlds that respected player intelligence.
In retrospect, the Week 19 chart of 2017 is a microcosm of a vibrant era. A top five featuring a sci‑fi horror, an unstoppable crime epic, a family racing game, a sports simulation, and an indie sensation shows the sheer breadth of tastes that British gamers brought to the checkout counter. And while the method of purchase may have changed dramatically in the nine years since, the passion for diverse, high‑quality gaming experiences remains the one constant. The week Prey overtook Mario Kart was not just a statistical flip; it was a story of patience, creativity, and a love for the unexpected—a story that still resonates as we scroll through our digital libraries in 2026.
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