Starfield has climbed back to the top of the US sales charts, according to Circana data covering the week ending April 11th - the first time the game has hit number one since its original Xbox and PC launch back in 2023. The milestone comes off the back of the game's PS5 debut on April 7th.
The numbers tell a pretty clear story: per Circana's data as reported by Push Square, 95% of Starfield's full-price sales that week came from the new PS5 version. That's an overwhelming majority that underscores just how much of the existing audience had already played it on other platforms, and how much untapped demand existed on Sony's console.
Mixed signals from the data
The chart-topping performance comes with an asterisk, though. Alinea Analytics had previously estimated worldwide sales of around 140,000 units across the full week following the PS5 release - figures that were widely characterised as soft, especially for a game of Starfield's profile and marketing spend.
It's worth keeping both data points in context. Circana tracks US physical and digital sales, while Alinea's worldwide estimate paints a broader picture. Topping a weekly chart doesn't necessarily mean a blockbuster launch - it just means Starfield outsold everything else in that particular window, which can say as much about the competition as it does about the game itself.
A late platform expansion with modest momentum
For Bethesda and Xbox, any positive headline around Starfield is welcome at this point. The game had a divisive reception at launch, and the PS5 port arriving more than two years after the original release was always going to face an uphill battle for attention in a crowded market.
Whether the PS5 version can sustain momentum or whether that 140k estimate reflects a relatively quiet long tail remains to be seen. Bethesda hasn't commented publicly on the sales figures. For now, the chart position is a genuine win - even if the broader numbers suggest this port hasn't quite ignited the mainstream second wave Bethesda might have been hoping for.
