The latest industry report from market analysts Circana (previously NPG Group) shows Madden NFL 24 was the best-selling video game of August 2023 in the United States. Electronic Arts" annual NFL franchise topped the charts for the month.
In second place was FromSoftware"s mech-action game Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. Both titles instantly broke into the yearly top 20 best-sellers list as well.
Another notable title, Baldur"s Gate 3 from Larian Studios, saw over 800,000 players concurrent players on Steam when it launched for PC early in the month. However, as a digital-only release, it couldn"t be reflected in Circana"s retail sales tracking.
- Madden NFL 24
- Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
- Remnant 2
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
- Hogwarts Legacy
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom*
- Diablo 4
- MLB The Show 23^
- Minecraft
- Mario Kart 8*
*Digital sales not included, ^Xbox and Switch digital sales not included.
Also, the PlayStation 5 was reported as the top-selling console in both dollars and units moved last month. Microsoft"s Xbox Series X|S came in second place.
On the mobile side, Monopoly Go topped the charts as the highest-grossing mobile game. It surpasses Royal Match, which previously held the top spot. Pokemon Go moved up and pushed Coin Master out of the top five rankings. Activision-Blizzard previously had two games ranked but is now down to just one, Candy Crush Saga, since Call of Duty: Mobile dropped out of the ranking.
Circana"s report shows that overall consumer spending on video games, hardware, and accessories grew 3% year-over-year to $4.2 billion for August. Content and accessories saw spending increases while hardware declined.
While several big holiday titles like Modern Warfare 2 and Hogwarts Legacy remained in the yearly best-sellers, August showcased the strength of annual sports franchises and new releases like Armored Core VI lead the industry in the late summer months.
Source: Circana via Games Industry