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Several of November’s game releases have rocketed to the top — well, close to the top — of the charts, according to industry tracking firm The NPD Group. Consumer spending in the US is also slightly higher than last year, helped by a strong increase in hardware sales. Total spending for the year is still slightly lower than in 2021.
| November 2022 Dollar sales, millions | Nov 2021 |
Nov 2022 |
Change |
| Total video game sales | $6,111 | $6,286 | 3% |
| Video Game Content (physical and digital full game, DLC/MTX, and consumer subscription subscriptions across console, cloud, mobile*, portable, PC, and VR platforms) | $4,983 | $4,742 | -5% |
| Video game hardware | $866 | $1,254 | 45% |
| Video game accessories | $262 | $289 | 10% |
“Strong hardware performance in the month of November (up 45% year-over-year to $1.3 billion) was primarily driven by a significant year-over-year increase in PlayStation 5 volume,” NPD analyst said. Matt Piscatella. “PlayStation 5 was November’s best-selling hardware platform in both unit sales and dollars, while Nintendo Switch ranked second for both measures. PlayStation 5 remains the best-selling hardware platform of 2022 in terms of year-to-date sales, while Nintendo Switch leads the pack in numbers.”
The increase in hardware sales is likely partly driven by holiday sales. Piscatella noted in a LinkedIn post that hardware bundle sales (which can be slightly more expensive than the consoles alone) are counted toward hardware sales, not software. An increase in units available to buy probably also helped move the needle.
Piscatella added, “The strong performance from November brings current year spending to $49.0 billion, down 6% from the same period in 2021.”
Contents
- 1 November 2022 NPD: Top 20 Best Selling Games of the Month in the US
- 2 November 2022 NPD: 20 best-selling games of 2022 so far
- 3 November 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Games of the Past 12 Months
- 4 November 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Nintendo Platform Games in the US
- 5 November 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling PlayStation Platform Games in the US
- 6 November 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Xbox Platform Games in the US
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November 2022 NPD: Top 20 Best Selling Games of the Month in the US
NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but also gets digital data directly from publishers. Not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share its sales with the first party, and Activision Blizzard doesn’t deliver its Battle.net sales.
These charts are sorted by dollar sales – not units sold. And this is for full game sales and does not include in-game expenses.
| Rank | Last Month Rank |
All platforms | Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | NEW ONES | God of War Ragnarok | Sony (company) |
| 3 | NEW ONES | Pokemon Scarlet/Violet* | Nintendo |
| 4 | NEW ONES | Sonic Limits | Sega |
| 5 | 4 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic art |
| 6 | 3 | FIFA23 | Electronic art |
| 7 | 8 | NBA 2K23* | Take-Two interactive |
| 8 | 2 | Gotham knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 9 | 39 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (company) |
| 10 | 47 | Mario Party Superstars* | Nintendo |
| 11 | 10 | Elder ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 12 | 28 | Animal Crossing: new horizons* | Nintendo |
| 13 | 11 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 14 | 6 | Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope | Ubisoft |
| 15 | 7 | Person 5 | Atlus |
| 16 | 5 | NHL 23 | Electronic art |
| 17 | NEW ONES | Tactics Ogre Reborn | Square Enix Inc (Corp) |
| 18 | 13 | Minecraft | Multiple video game manufacturers |
| 19 | 40 | Horizon 2: Forbidden West | Sony (company) |
| 20 | 36 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | Nintendo |
While several new releases compete for 2nd place on the charts, they haven’t toppled Modern Warfare II. In terms of sales to date, MWII has officially dethroned Elden Ring – which just won Game of the Year at the Game Awards – as the bestseller. It also now surpasses Bandai Namco’s hit as the best-selling game of the year and the last 12 months.
In response to the NPD report, Activision President Rob Kostich said in a statement, “From the start, the excitement for Modern Warfare II has been incredible. We are grateful to our fans, who have come together in record numbers. We know that our players always have many entertainment choices before them, that our teams recognize and are constantly working to create exciting new experiences. Our first mid-season content refresh is just days away, with so much more to come in 2023.”
November releases are skyrocketing up the charts
Several popular franchise games were released in November. God of War Ragnarök, Elden Ring’s main competitor at The Game Awards, jumped straight to 2nd place. Considering these were Sony’s most successful first-party launches to date, it’s no shock. It also charted among the best-selling games of the year and topped the PlayStation charts (see below).
The other big franchise release this month was Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, which also entered the bestseller list at number 3. Considering both Legends: Arceus and Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl have both stayed on at least one of these charts all year, this is also not surprising. However, Sonic Frontiers fares almost as well as the other two at place 4. While Sonic has the same amount of name recognition, it’s a bit of a surprise (but a gratifying one) to see it working so closely with the leaders of the pack.
Black Friday increases the number of games on sale
As the charts show, several games that were further down the list have moved up a few places. It’s not as dramatic a jump as, say, October’s Persona and Nier boosts, but it’s still worth noting. For example, Mario Party Superstars went from 47th place to 10th place thanks to the half discount during the sale period. Similarly, Forbidden West and Miles Morales received a sales boost thanks to the reduction in holiday prices.
November 2022 NPD: 20 best-selling games of 2022 so far
| Rank | Last Month Rank |
All platforms | Publisher |
| 1 | 2 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 1 | Elder ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 3 | 4 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic art |
| 4 | 3 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 5 | NEW ONES | God of War Ragnarok | Sony (company) |
| 6 | 5 | Pokémon Legends: Arceus* | Nintendo |
| 7 | NEW ONES | Pokemon Scarlet/Violet* | Nintendo |
| 8 | 6 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (company) |
| 9 | 8 | FIFA23 | Electronic art |
| 10 | 7 | MLB: The Show 22^ | Multiple video game manufacturers |
| 11 | 9 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 12 | 10 | Gran Turismo 7 | Sony (company) |
| 13 | 11 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 14 | 12 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land | Nintendo |
| 15 | 14 | Gotham knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 16 | 13 | Minecraft | Multiple video game manufacturers |
| 17 | 21 | NBA 2K23* | Take-Two interactive |
| 18 | 15 | Nintendo Switch Sports* | Nintendo |
| 19 | 20 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (company) |
| 20 | 22 | Animal Crossing: new horizons* | Nintendo |
^Xbox & Switch digital sales not included
November 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Games of the Past 12 Months
| Rank | Last Month Rank |
All platforms | Publisher |
| 1 | 3 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 1 | Elder ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 3 | 6 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic art |
| 4 | 4 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 5 | NEW ONES | God of War Ragnarok | Sony (company) |
| 6 | 2 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 7 | 8 | Pokémon Legends: Arceus* | Nintendo |
| 8 | NEW ONES | Pokemon Scarlet/Violet* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 9 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (company) |
| 10 | 16 | FIFA23 | Electronic art |
November 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Nintendo Platform Games in the US
| Rank | Last Month Rank |
Nintendo platforms | Publisher |
| 1 | NEW ONES | Pokemon Scarlet/Violet* | Nintendo |
| 2 | NEW ONES | Sonic Limits | Sega |
| 3 | 17 | Mario Party Superstars* | Nintendo |
| 4 | 11 | Animal Crossing: new horizons* | Nintendo |
| 5 | 4 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 6 | 1 | Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope | Ubisoft |
| 7 | 13 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | Nintendo |
| 8 | 7 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 5 | Splatoon 3* | Nintendo |
| 10 | 6 | Nintendo Switch Sports* | Nintendo |
November 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling PlayStation Platform Games in the US
| Rank | Last Month Rank |
PlayStation platforms | Publisher |
| 1 | NEW ONES | God of War Ragnarok | Sony (company) |
| 2 | 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 3 | 4 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic art |
| 4 | 3 | FIFA23 | Electronic art |
| 5 | NEW ONES | Sonic Limits | Sega |
| 6 | 6 | NBA 2K23* | Take-Two interactive |
| 7 | 2 | Gotham knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 8 | 11 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (company) |
| 9 | 12 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (company) |
| 10 | 13 | Gran Turismo 7 | Sony (company) |
November 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Xbox Platform Games in the US
| Rank | Last Month Rank |
Xbox platforms | Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 3 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic art |
| 3 | 4 | FIFA23 | Electronic art |
| 4 | NEW ONES | Sonic Limits | Sega |
| 5 | 2 | Gotham knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 6 | 6 | NBA 2K23* | Take-Two interactive |
| 7 | 5 | NHL 23 | Electronic art |
| 8 | 8 | Elder ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 9 | 9 | Forza Horizon 5 | Microsoft (company) |
| 10 | 7 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
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