2023 marked the first time in 15 years that a Call of Duty or Rockstar game didn’t top the annual sales chart in the United States.
Hogwarts Legacywas last year’s No.1 game based on dollar sales (as opposed to unit sales), according Mat Piscatella, executive director at research firm Circana.
Rock Band was the last non-Call of Duty orRockstargame to achieve the feat back in 2008.
Overall, Call of Duty was the best-selling franchise in the US in 2023 (excluding add-on content) for a record 15th year running, withModern Warfare 3coming in at No.2 on the annual software chart andModern Warfare2 at No.7.
Madden NFL 24 charted at No.3, ahead ofPS5exclusiveMarvel’s Spider-Man 2at No.4.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomwas at No.5 based on physical sales alone, asNintendodoesn’t share its digital sales data for inclusion in Circana’s reports.
On the hardware front, PS5 was the best-selling console last year in both units and dollars, followed byNintendo SwitchandXbox Series X/S.
Further reading
PS5 helpedSonyset a new monthly record forPlayStationhardware dollar sales in December, beating the company’s previous high recorded in December 2022.
Total US consumer spending on game hardware, content and accessories reached $57.2 billion in 2023, which was up 1% compared to 2022.
