The US gaming industry finished strong in 2022 despite it being a slow year, according to an industry tracker. NPD group. While the year fell slightly – in line with the popular view that 2022 is a “failed” corrective year in the wake of the pandemic boom – spending on devices and subscriptions boosted sales to a slight year-on-year increase in December.
| December 2022 sales in dollars, in millions | Dec 2021 |
Dec 2022 |
they change |
| Total video game sales | $7,428 | $7,583 | 2% |
| Video game content (full game physical and digital, DLC/MTX and subscription consumer spending across console, cloud, mobile*, handheld, PC and VR platforms) | $5,597 | $5,547 | -1% |
| Video game consoles | $1,319 | $1,533 | 16% |
| Video game accessories | $512 | 503 bucks | -2% |
“U.S. consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories totaled $7.6 billion in December 2022, up 2% year-over-year,” said NPD analyst Matt Piscatella. “Video game console spending increased 16%, offsetting declines in both content (-1%) and accessories (-2%).”
In addition to monthly sales, NPD also provided year-end stats, including sales figures for individual games in 2022. Total game sales for 2022 were down 5% from 2021, a smaller spread than the company recorded in previous months. Hardware sales actually improved in 2022, suggesting that supply chain issues from earlier in the year have eased.
| $2022 Sales, in Millions | 2021 | 2022 | they change |
| Total video game sales | $59,620 | $56,556 | -5% |
| Video game content (full game physical and digital, DLC/MTX and subscription consumer spending across console, cloud, mobile*, handheld, PC and VR platforms) | $50,833 | $47,475 | -7% |
| Video game consoles | $6,060 | $6,570 | 8% |
| Video game accessories | $2,726 | $2,511 | -8% |
Piscatella added: “December growth lifted full-year 2022 spending to $56.6 billion, 5% below 2021 levels. Gains in hardware and subscription content spending were offset by declines in other areas of spending. Factors affecting 2022 spending included continued supply constraints of console hardware, a relatively light slate of premium new releases, and macroeconomic conditions.”
December 2022 NPD: Top 20 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 does not participate in first-party sales and Activision Blizzard does not offer its own sales of Battle.net.
These charts are sorted by dollar sales – not the number of units sold. This is for full game sales and does not include in-game spend.
| Rank | else Month Rank |
All platforms | publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 3 | Pokémon: Scarlet/Violet* | Nintendo |
| 3 | 2 | God of War: Ragnarok | sony (corp) |
| 4 | 5 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | 6 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 6 | 4 | acoustic boundaries | sega |
| 7 | 11 | Elden ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 8 | the new | Need for Speed: Unbound | Electronic Arts |
| 9 | 13 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 10 | the new | Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII: The Reunion | Square Enix Inc (Corp) |
| 11 | 7 | NBA 2K23* | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 12 | 27 | Just Dance 2023 Edition | Ubisoft |
| 13 | 14 | Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope | Ubisoft |
| 14 | 18 | Maine Craft | Many video game manufacturers |
| 15 | 21 | Super Smash Bros.! Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 16 | 25 | Nintendo Switch Sports * | Nintendo |
| 17 | the new | Callisto Protocol* | Crafton Games Association |
| 18 | 12 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 19 | 24 | Splatoon 3* | Nintendo |
| 20 | 8 | Gotham Knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
Our list of best-selling games — for both the month and the year (see below) — doesn’t really hold any big surprises this month. Numerous games have jumped back onto the list, thanks in part to holiday sales and the persistence of mega-franchises like Pokémon and Call of Duty at the top of the list. The November releases, Sonic Frontiers and God of War Ragnarök, both continue to chart well.
Of the new games released in December, Need for Speed Unbound charted highest, beating out Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion likely due to the latter’s console exclusivity. Callisto protocol I also managed to make graphs. Despite being released during the end of the year, the title launched without much competition.
newly, Ubisoft announced that it was reducing development of the game, and scrapping three unannounced titles. One of the factors I mentioned in these metrics was the poor performance of its titles in late 2022, namely Just Dance 2023 and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. Both titles managed to make the December bestseller list, thanks in part to holiday sales.
December 2022 NPD: Top 10 selling Nintendo console games in the US
| Rank | else Month Rank |
Nintendo platforms | publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Pokémon: Scarlet/Violet* | Nintendo |
| 2 | 5 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 3 | 6 | Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope | Ubisoft |
| 4 | 11 | Just Dance 2023 Edition | Ubisoft |
| 5 | 2 | acoustic boundaries | sega |
| 6 | 8 | Super Smash Bros.! Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 7 | 10 | Nintendo Switch Sports * | Nintendo |
| 8 | 4 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 9 | Splatoon 3* | Nintendo |
| 10 | 19 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land * | Nintendo |
December 2022 NPD: Top 10 best selling PlayStation games in the US
| Rank | else Month Rank |
PlayStation platforms | publisher |
| 1 | 2 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 1 | God of War: Ragnarok | sony (corp) |
| 3 | 3 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | 4 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | the new | Need for Speed: Unbound | Electronic Arts |
| 6 | the new | Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII: The Reunion | Square Enix Inc (Corp) |
| 7 | 6 | NBA 2K23* | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 8 | 11 | Elden ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 9 | 5 | acoustic boundaries | sega |
| 10 | the new | Callisto Protocol* | Crafton Games Association |
December 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Xbox Games in the US
| Rank | else Month Rank |
Xbox platforms | publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 2 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 3 | 3 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | the new | Need for Speed: Unbound | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | 8 | Elden ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 6 | 6 | NBA 2K23* | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 7 | 4 | acoustic boundaries | sega |
| 8 | 5 | Gotham Knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 9 | 7 | NHL23 | Electronic Arts |
| 10 | 9 | Forza Horizon 5 | Microsoft (Corp) |
NPD for the whole of 2022: 20 best-selling games of 2022
| Rank | else Month Rank |
All platforms | publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 2 | Elden ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 3 | 3 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | 5 | God of War: Ragnarok | sony (corp) |
| 5 | 4 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 6 | 7 | Pokémon: Scarlet/Violet* | Nintendo |
| 7 | 9 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 8 | 6 | Pokémon Legends: Arceus* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 8 | The second horizon: the forbidden west | sony (corp) |
| 10 | 10 | MLB: Width 22^ | Many video game manufacturers |
| 11 | 13 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 12 | 11 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 13 | 12 | Gran Turismo 7 | sony (corp) |
| 14 | 14 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land * | Nintendo |
| 15 | 17 | NBA 2K23* | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 16 | 23 | acoustic boundaries | sega |
| 17 | 15 | Gotham Knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 18 | 16 | Maine Craft | Many video game manufacturers |
| 19 | 18 | Nintendo Switch Sports * | Nintendo |
| 20 | 22 | Super Smash Bros.! Ultimate* | Nintendo |
^ Xbox & Switch digital sales not included
All of NPD 2022: Nintendo’s Top 10 Best Selling Games
| Rank | Nintendo platforms | publisher |
| 1 | Pokémon: Scarlet/Violet* | Nintendo |
| 2 | Pokémon Legends: Arceus* | Nintendo |
| 3 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 4 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land * | Nintendo |
| 5 | Nintendo Switch Sports * | Nintendo |
| 6 | Super Smash Bros.! Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 7 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 8 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 9 | mario party super stars * | Nintendo |
| 20 | Splatoon 3* | Nintendo |
NPD for the whole of 2022: The 10 best selling games on PlayStation platforms
| Rank | PlayStation platforms | publisher |
| 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | God of War: Ragnarok | sony (corp) |
| 3 | Elden ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 4 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | The second horizon: the forbidden west | sony (corp) |
| 6 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 7 | MLB: Show 22 | sony (corp) |
| 8 | Gran Turismo 7 | sony (corp) |
| 9 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 10 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | sony (corp) |
NPD for the whole of 2022: The 10 best-selling Xbox games
| Rank | Xbox platforms | publisher |
| 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | Elden ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 3 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 5 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 6 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 7 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 8 | Gotham Knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 9 | Forza Horizon 5 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 10 | Saints Row (2022) | billion |
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