Image Credit: Square Enix
The U.S. video gaming market ended up strong in 2022 regardless of it being an otherwise sluggish year, according to industry-tracking company The NPD Group While the year overall was down a little– in line with the typical view that 2022 is a “bust” restorative year following the pandemic boom– costs on hardware and memberships improved sales to a small year-over-year boost for December.
| December 2022 Dollar Sales, Millions | Dec 2021 |
Dec 2022 |
Change |
| Total Video Game Sales | $ 7,428 | $ 7,583 | 2% |
| Video Game Content (Physical & & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription customer costs throughout Console, Cloud, Mobile *, Portable, PC and VR platforms) | $ 5,597 | $ 5,547 | -1% |
| Video Game Hardware | $ 1,319 | $ 1,533 | 16% |
| Video Game Accessories | $512 | $503 | -2% |
” U.S. customer costs on computer game material, hardware and devices amounted to $7.6 billion in December 2022, a boost of 2% when compared to a year earlier,” stated NPD expert Mat Piscatella. “Video video game hardware costs grew 16%, balancing out decreases in both material (-1%) and devices (-2%).”
In addition to the month-to-month sales, NPD likewise offered its year-end data, consisting of sales figures for private video games in2022 Overall video game sales for 2022 were down 5% from 2021, a smaller sized distinction than the business has actually tape-recorded in previous months. Hardware sales really enhanced in 2022, which recommends that the supply chain problems from earlier in the year have actually relieved.
| 2022 Dollar Sales, Millions | 2021 | 2022 | Change |
| Total Video Game Sales | $59,620 | $56,556 | -5% |
| Video Game Content (Physical & & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription customer costs throughout Console, Cloud, Mobile *, Portable, PC and VR platforms) | $50,833 | $47,475 | -7% |
| Video Game Hardware | $ 6,060 | $ 6,570 | 8% |
| Video Game Accessories | $ 2,726 | $ 2,511 | -8% |
Piscatella included, “The December development brought complete year 2022 costs to $566 billion, 5% listed below 2021 levels. Gains in costs in hardware and membership material were balanced out by decreases throughout other locations of costs. Aspects affecting 2022 costs consisted of continued supply restrictions of console hardware, a reasonably light slate of brand-new premium releases, and macroeconomic conditions.”
December 2022 NPD: Top 20 very popular video games of the month in the U.S.
NPD tracks physical sales at sellers, however it likewise gets digital information straight from publishers. Not every business takes part. Nintendo does not share its first-party sales and Activision Blizzard does not offer its Battle.net sales.
These charts are arranged by dollar sales– not variety of systems offered. And this is for full-game sales and does not consist of in-game costs.
| Rank | Last 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: Ragnarök | Sony (Corp) |
| 4 | 5 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | 6 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 6 | 4 | Sonic Frontiers | Sega |
| 7 | 11 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 8 | NEW | Need for Speed: Unbound | Electronic Arts |
| 9 | 13 | Mario Kart 8 * | Nintendo |
| 10 | NEW | Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII: 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 | Minecraft | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers |
| 15 | 21 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate * | Nintendo |
| 16 | 25 | Nintendo Switch Sports * | Nintendo |
| 17 | NEW | The Callisto Protocol * | Krafton Games Union |
| 18 | 12 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons * | Nintendo |
| 19 | 24 | Splatoon 3 * | Nintendo |
| 20 | 8 | Gotham Knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
The list of very popular video games– both for the month and the year (see listed below)– do not truly consist of any fantastic surprises this month. A number of video games have actually leapt back onto the list thanks in part to vacation sales and heavy-hitting franchises like Pokémon and Call of Duty continue to top the list. November releases, Sonic Frontiers and God of War Ragnarök, both continue to chart well.
Out of the brand-new video games launched in December, Need for Speed Unbound has actually charted the greatest, vanquishing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion likely due to the latter’s console exclusivity. The Callisto Protocol likewise handled to make the charts. In spite of launching throughout the tail end of the year, the title introduced without much competitors.
Recently, Ubisoft revealed that it was cutting down on video game advancement, canceling 3 unannounced titles. Among the elements it pointed out in these procedures was the under efficiency of its late 2022 titles, particularly Just Dance 2023 and Mario+ Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. Both titles handled to make the best-sellers list for December, most likely in part thanks to vacation sales.
December 2022 NPD: Top 10 very popular Nintendo-platform video games in the U.S.
| Rank | Last 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 | Sonic Frontiers | 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 very popular PlayStation-platform video games in the U.S.
| Rank | Last Month Rank |
PlayStation Platforms | Publisher |
| 1 | 2 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 1 | God of War: Ragnarök | Sony (Corp) |
| 3 | 3 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | 4 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | NEW | Need for Speed: Unbound | Electronic Arts |
| 6 | NEW | Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII: Reunion | Square Enix Inc (Corp) |
| 7 | 6 | NBA 2K23 * | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 8 | 11 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 9 | 5 | Sonic Frontiers | Sega |
| 10 | NEW | The Callisto Protocol * | Krafton Games Union |
December 2022 NPD: Top 10 very popular Xbox-platform video games in the U.S.
| Rank | Last 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 | NEW | Need for Speed: Unbound | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | 8 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 6 | 6 | NBA 2K23 * | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 7 | 4 | Sonic Frontiers | Sega |
| 8 | 5 | Gotham Knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 9 | 7 | NHL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 10 | 9 | Forza Horizon 5 | Microsoft (Corp) |
Full-year 2022 NPD: 20 very popular video games of 2022
| Rank | Last 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: Ragnarök | Sony (Corp) |
| 5 | 4 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 6 | 7 | Pokémon: Scarlet/Violet * | Nintendo |
| 7 | 9 | FIFA23 | Electronic Arts |
| 8 | 6 | Pokémon Legends: Arceus * | Nintendo |
| 9 | 8 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (Corp) |
| 10 | 10 | MLB: The Show 22 ^ | Multiple 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 | Sonic Frontiers | Sega |
| 17 | 15 | Gotham Knights | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 18 | 16 | Minecraft | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers |
| 19 | 18 | Nintendo Switch Sports * | Nintendo |
| 20 | 22 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate * | Nintendo |
^ Xbox & & Switch digital sales not consisted of
Full-year 2022 NPD: Top 10 very popular video games on Nintendo platforms
| 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 Superstars * | Nintendo |
| 20 | Splatoon 3 * | Nintendo |
Full-year 2022 NPD: Top 10 very popular video games on PlayStation platforms
| Rank | PlayStation Platforms | Publisher |
| 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | God of War: Ragnarök | Sony (Corp) |
| 3 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 4 | Madden NFL 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (Corp) |
| 6 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 7 | MLB: The 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) |
Full-year 2022 NPD: Top 10 very popular video games on Xbox platforms
| 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) | Plaion |
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