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It was a big month for console hardware sales in the United States due to increasing supply, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. That led to year-over-year growth in that category. But the industry overall was down due to slower game content sales. That is likely due to less interest in games like Call of Duty: Vanguard. Here are the full results for the month:
| April 2022 Dollar Sales, Millions | Apr 2021 | Apr 2022 | Change | |
| Total Video Game Sales | $4,729 | $4,337 | -8% | |
| Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR) platforms) | $4,267 | $3,844 | -10% | |
| Video Game Hardware | $295 | $343 | 16% | |
| Video Game Accessories | $167 | $151 | -10% | |
| * Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower |
“April 2022 consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories declined 8% when compared to a year ago, to $4.3 billion,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “Hardware gains were unable to offset declines in content and accessories spending. Year-to-date 2022 spending was also 8% lower than the same period a year ago, to $18.3 billion.”
| Year-to-Date 2022 Dollar Sales, Millions | YTD 2021 | YTD 2022 | Change | |
| Total Video Game Sales | $19,888 | $18,258 | -8% | |
| Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR) platforms) | $17,313 | $15,972 | -8% | |
| Video Game Hardware | $1,700 | $1,543 | -9% | |
| Video Game Accessories | $875 | $743 | -15% | |
| * Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower |
Let’s get to the software sales.
April 2022 NPD sales charts and info
April 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.
| Rank | Last Month Rank | April 2022 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | NEW | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 2 | 1 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 3 | 4 | MLB: The Show 22^ | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers |
| 4 | 3 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land* | Nintendo |
| 5 | NEW | Nintendo Switch Sports* | Nintendo |
| 6 | 9 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 7 | 5 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (Corp) |
| 8 | 8 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 2 | Gran Turismo 7 | Sony (Corp) |
| 10 | 6 | Pokemon Legends: Arceus* | Nintendo |
| 11 | 14 | Minecraft | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers |
| 12 | 13 | FIFA 22 | Electronic Arts |
| 13 | 22 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 14 | 18 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 15 | 21 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 16 | 19 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 17 | 7 | WWE 2K22* | Take Two Interactive |
| 18 | 17 | Mario Party Superstars* | Nintendo |
| 19 | 15 | Madden NFL 22 | Electronic Arts |
| 20 | 11 | Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands* | Take Two Interactive |
| * Digital sales not included | |||
| ^ Xbox digital sales not included |
WORDS
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is an immediate smash hit in the United States.
“LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was the best-selling game of April 2022, while also debuting as the No. 2 best-selling game of 2022 year to date,” said Piscatella. “LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was the best-selling game of the month across Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam platforms.”
The pent up demand for The Skywalker Saga enabled the game to set a record for the long-running franchise.
“LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga achieved the highest launch-month dollar sales for any LEGO title in history, and after one month ranks among the top 6 best-selling LEGO games life to date,” said Piscatella. “LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the first third-party game to rank as the best-selling title on Nintendo platforms since March 2021’s Monster Hunter: Rise.”
Elden Ring
“Elden Ring was the 2nd best-selling title of April 2022,” said Piscatella. “Elden Ring remains the best-selling game of 2022 year to date and has surpassed Call of Duty: Vanguard to become the best-selling premium game of the trailing 12-month period ending April 2022.”
April 2022 NPD: 20 best-selling games of 2022 so far
| Rank | Last Month Rank | YTD 2022 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2 | NEW | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 3 | 2 | Pokemon Legends: Arceus* | Nintendo |
| 4 | 3 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (Corp) |
| 5 | 11 | MLB: The Show 22^ | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers |
| 6 | 4 | Gran Turismo 7 | Sony (Corp) |
| 7 | 5 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 8 | 7 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 6 | Madden NFL 22 | Electronic Arts |
| 10 | 8 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 11 | 10 | FIFA 22 | Electronic Arts |
| 12 | 13 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 13 | 14 | Minecraft | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers |
| 14 | 9 | Dying Light 2: Stay Human* | Square Enix Inc (Corp) |
| 15 | 12 | Monster Hunter: Rise | Capcom USA |
| 16 | 15 | Mario Party Superstars* | Nintendo |
| 17 | 18 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 18 | 20 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 19 | 19 | WWE 2K22* | Take Two Interactive |
| 20 | 21 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| * Digital sales not included | |||
| ^ Xbox digital sales not included |
April 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling games of the 12 months
| Rank | Last Month Rank | 12 Months Ending April 2022 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | 2 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2 | 1 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 3 | 3 | Madden NFL 22 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | 4 | Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl* | Nintendo |
| 5 | 5 | Battlefield 2042 | Electronic Arts |
| 6 | NEW | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 7 | 6 | Far Cry 6 | Ubisoft |
| 8 | 8 | FIFA 22 | Electronic Arts |
| 9 | 9 | Resident Evil: Village | Capcom USA |
| 10 | 12 | Pokemon Legends: Arceus* | Nintendo |
| * Digital sales not included |
April 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Nintendo-platform games in the U.S.
| Nintendo Platforms | |||
| Rank | Last Month Rank | April 2022 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | NEW | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 2 | 1 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land* | Nintendo |
| 3 | NEW | Nintendo Switch Sports* | Nintendo |
| 4 | 3 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 5 | 2 | Pokemon Legends: Arceus* | Nintendo |
| 6 | 6 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 7 | 7 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 8 | 5 | Mario Party Superstars* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 11 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | Nintendo |
| 10 | NEW | MLB: The Show 22* | Major League Baseball |
| * Digital sales not included |
April 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling PlayStation-platform games in the U.S.
| PlayStation Platforms | |||
| Rank | Last Month Rank | April 2022 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | NEW | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 2 | 3 | MLB: The Show 22 | Sony (Corp) |
| 3 | 1 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 4 | 4 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (Corp) |
| 5 | 2 | Gran Turismo 7 | Sony (Corp) |
| 6 | 7 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 7 | 9 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 8 | 5 | WWE 2K22* | Take Two Interactive |
| 9 | 12 | FIFA 22 | Electronic Arts |
| 10 | 11 | Madden NFL 22 | Electronic Arts |
| * Digital sales not included |
April 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Xbox-platform games in the U.S.
| Xbox Platforms | |||
| Rank | Last Month Rank | April 2022 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | NEW | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 2 | 1 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 3 | 2 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 4 | 6 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 5 | 8 | Forza Horizon 5 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 6 | 7 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 7 | 13 | Halo: Infinite | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 8 | NEW | Godfall | Gearbox Software |
| 9 | 10 | FIFA 22 [EA Sports] | Electronic Arts |
| 10 | 15 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| * Digital sales not included |
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