Another month, another portion of fresh data from Circana on the US video game market. Here are the best-selling titles and consoles of September 2023.
- As reported by Mat Piscatella on X (former Twitter), US players spent a total of $4.5 billion on video games, hardware, and accessories last month, up 10% year-over-year.
- Sales of games, including DLC, in-app purchases, and subscriptions, amounted to $3.84 billion, up 13% compared to the same period last year. Consumer spending on accessories grew 11% to $197 million.
- The only category to decline year-over-year was hardware — $451 million, down 8%. Xbox Series X|S showed a single-digit growth in sales, while sales of both PS5 and Nintendo Switch declined.
- However, PS5 remained the best-selling video game hardware in both unit and dollar sales, followed by Xbox Series X|S.
September 2023 US Video Game Market Highlights from Circana – U.S. consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories grew 10% compared to a year ago, totaling $4.5B. Growth in spending on video game content and accessories offset an 8% decline in hardware. pic.twitter.com/LjyIUjuBB9
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2023
- Starfield became the best-selling premium game of September 2023 in the US, outshining other new releases like Mortal Kombat 1, EA Sports FC 24, and Payday 3. According to Circana, PC was the lead sales platform for Bethesda’s latest RPG.
- Mortal Kombat 1 was the best-selling game on PlayStation, and EA Sports FC 24 showed double-digit percentage growth across unit and dollar sales compared to the launch of FIFA 23 in September 2022.
- It is worth noting that the two other new releases, The Crew: Motorfest and NBA 2K24, debuted at #7 and #6 respectively.
September 2023 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games (Dollar Sales, Excludes add-on content) pic.twitter.com/rNhAH8d8xY
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2023
- Strong sales helped Starfield become the 7th best-selling game of 2023 year-to-date. Mortal Kombat 1 is currently ranked 7th, while EA Sports FC 24 sits at #14.
- Hogwarts Legacy remains the best-selling game of the year, followed by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Madden NFL 24, Diablo IV, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
- For those wondering why Baldur’s Gate 3 is missing from the charts, Larian Studios doesn’t provide Circana with data on digital sales of its games. And digital is the main distribution channel for BG3, since it doesn’t even have physical copies on sale.
YTD ending September 2023 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games (Dollar Sales, Excludes add-on content) pic.twitter.com/OYxYSot5QE
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2023
- According to Sensor Tower, US player spending on mobile games increased by 4.3% year-over-year. The top 10 highest-grossing titles remained unchanged compared to August: Monopoly Go!, Royal Match, Roblox, Candy Crush Saga, Pokémon GO, Coin Master, Gardenscapes, Jackpot Party – Casino Slots, Evony, and Homescapes.
- “MONOPOLY GO! remains firmly on top, with the #2 to #4 games Royal Match, Roblox, and Candy Crush clustered together, but trailing Scopely’s hit by a wide margin,” Sensor Tower’s Samuel Aune told Circana. “Spend in Pokémon GO came down from the high of August, Pokémon GO’s World Championships month.”