Consumer spending on video games, while still low compared with previous years, is close to what it was in July 2020. According to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group, hardware sales are also increasing, possibly thanks to supplies increasing. In a major coup, Warner Bros.’ free-to-play fighting game MultiVersus has overtaken both Elden Ring and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga as the top-selling game.

July 2022 Dollar Sales, MillionsJuly
2021
July
2022
Change
Total Video Game Sales$4,573$4,177-9%
Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR) platforms)$4,060$3,668-10%
Video Game Hardware$323$36212%
Video Game Accessories$190$148-22%

“July 2022 consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories fell 9% when compared to a year ago, to $4.18 billion,” said NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. “The total is slightly lower than the $4.19 billion generated in July 2020.”

It’s not huge upswing in numbers by any means. The gaming market has been trickling down slowly for the last several months, with May 2022 having the lowest spend of the pandemic period. According to data provided by Sensor Tower, even the mobile market is on a decline. However, the increased console sales indicate that, at least for the time being, some of the supply chain problems have been ameliorated.

Year-to-Date 2022 Dollar Sales, MillionsYTD
2021
YTD
2022
Change
Total Video Game Sales$33,860$30,458-10%
Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR) platforms)$29,780$26,761-10%
Video Game Hardware$2,669$2,494-7%
Video Game Accessories$1,411$1,203-15%

Piscatella added, “Year-to-date spending has reached $30.5 billion, a 10% decline when compared to the same period in 2021. Subscription content remained the only major spending category that experienced growth in spending.”

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July 2022 NPD: Top 20 best-selling games of the month in the U.S.

NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but it also gets digital data directly from publishers. Not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share its first-party sales, and Activision Blizzard does not provide its Battle.net sales.

These charts are sorted by dollar sales — not number of units sold. And this is for full-game sales and does not include in-game spending.

RankLast Month RankAll PlatformsPublisher
1NEWMultiVersusWarner Bros. Interactive
21Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment
32LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive
4NEWXenoblade Chronicles 3*Nintendo
511Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)
64MLB: The Show 22^Multiple Video Game Manufacturers
76Mario Kart 8*Nintendo
8NEWDigimon SurviveBandai Namco Entertainment
910MinecraftMultiple Video Game Manufacturers
1012F1 22Electronic Arts
118Kirby and the Forgotten Land*Nintendo
1215Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*Nintendo
1322Animal Crossing: New Horizons*Nintendo
145OverwatchActivision Blizzard (Corp)
1518Pokémon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo
167Nintendo Switch Sports*Nintendo
1725Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold WarActivision Blizzard (Corp)
1824Far Cry 6Ubisoft
1937Call of Duty: Black Ops IIIActivision Blizzard (Corp)
2013Monster Hunter RiseCapcom USA
*Digital sales not included
^Xbox & Switch digital sales not included

The charts show a combination of old familiars and some new titles. Elden Ring and Lego Star Wars remain in the high ranks, as does Mario Kart 8. Some of last month’s dark horses, such as Final Fantasy VII Remake, have fallen back out of favor, though Monster Hunter Rise is still holding on. Some games that were just off the list last month have shuffled back on, including two Call of Duty titles.

In addition to the returns, three new games have jumped onto the list. Besides MultiVersus and Xenoblade Chronicles 3, tactical RPG-meets-dark visual novel Digimon Survive has also made it. Famitsu reported (via Nintendo Life) the game took second place on the Japanese charts for the final week of July.

MultiVersus takes gold

Elden Ring and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga have topped the NPD charts since they released, with both swapping off the top spot. MultiVersus is the first game to launch since to upset that balance. According to Piscatella, these sales were driven by sales of the game’s Founders Packs. MultiVersus has accrued over ten million players since launch across all platforms. Warner Bros and Player First recently rolled out the game’s first season, promising several new characters.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 jumps ranks

Another new game that has made a splash on the top ranks is hefty RPG Xenoblade Chronicles 3. While it didn’t dethrone either Elden Ring or Lego Star Wars from the bronze and silver, it did manage to get fourth. It was also the best-selling game of July on the Switch. Fellow RPG Live A Live only made it to rank 8 on that list, though it is worth noting that NPD doesn’t track digital sales of any Nintendo games.

July 2022 NPD: 20 best-selling games of 2022 so far

RankLast Month RankAll PlatformsPublisher
11Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment
22LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive
33Pokémon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo
44Horizon II: Forbidden WestSony (Corp)
55MLB: The Show 22^Multiple Video Game Manufacturers
66Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)
77Gran Turismo 7Sony (Corp)
88Kirby and the Forgotten Land*Nintendo
99Mario Kart 8*Nintendo
1010Madden NFL 22Electronic Arts
1112MinecraftMultiple Video Game Manufacturers
1211Nintendo Switch Sports*Nintendo
1313FIFA 22Electronic Arts
1414Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesSony (Corp)
1515Monster Hunter: RiseCapcom USA
1617Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*Nintendo
1716Animal Crossing: New Horizons*Nintendo
1819Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold WarActivision Blizzard (Corp)
1918Mario Party Superstars*Nintendo
2020Dying Light 2: Stay Human*Square Enix Inc (Corp)
*Digital sales not included
^Xbox & Switch digital sales not included

July 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling games of the last 12 months

RankLast Month RankAll PlatformsPublishers
11Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment
22Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)
33Madden NFL 22Electronic Arts
44Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl*Nintendo
55LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive
66Battlefield 2042Electronic Arts
77FIFA 22Electronic Arts
88Far Cry 6Ubisoft
99Pokémon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo
1010Horizon II: Forbidden WestSony (Corp)
*Digital sales not included

July 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Nintendo-platform games in the U.S.

RankLast Month RankNintendo PlatformsPublisher
1NEWXenoblade Chronicles*Nintendo
22Mario Kart 8*Nintendo
34Kirby and the Forgotten Land*Nintendo
45Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*Nintendo
59Animal Crossing: New Horizons*Nintendo
67Pokémon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo
73Nintendo Switch Sports*Nintendo
8NEWLive A Live*Nintendo
9NEWDigimon SurviveBandai Namco Entertainment
1011Mario Party Superstars*Nintendo
*Digital sales not included

July 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling PlayStation-platform games in the U.S.

RankLast Month RankPlayStation PlatformsPublisher
11Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment
22MLB: The Show 22Sony (Corp)
3NEWMultiVersusWarner Bros. Interactive
49Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)
512MinecraftMicrosoft (Corp)
65Horizon II: Forbidden WestSony (Corp)
711F1 22Electronic Arts
810Gran Turismo 7Sony (Corp)
93LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive
104Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesSony (Corp)
*Digital sales not included

July 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Xbox-platform games in the U.S.

RankLast Month RankXbox PlatformsPublisher
1NEWMultiVersusWarner Bros. Interactive
21Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment
35Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)
49Call of Duty: Black Ops IIIActivision Blizzard (Corp)
52LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive
63OverwatchActivision Blizzard (Corp)
78Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)Activision Blizzard (Corp)
87Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold WarActivision Blizzard (Corp)
94F1 22Electronic Arts
1010Forza Horizon 5Microsoft (Corp)
*Digital sales not included

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