July 2022 NPD: MultiVersus shoots past Elden Ring to the top

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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, Millions July
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 $362 12%
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, Millions YTD
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.”

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.

Rank Last Month Rank All Platforms Publisher
1 NEW MultiVersus Warner Bros. Interactive
2 1 Elden Ring Bandai Namco Entertainment
3 2 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Warner Bros. Interactive
4 NEW Xenoblade Chronicles 3* Nintendo
5 11 Call of Duty: Vanguard Activision Blizzard (Corp)
6 4 MLB: The Show 22^ Multiple Video Game Manufacturers
7 6 Mario Kart 8* Nintendo
8 NEW Digimon Survive Bandai Namco Entertainment
9 10 Minecraft Multiple Video Game Manufacturers
10 12 F1 22 Electronic Arts
11 8 Kirby and the Forgotten Land* Nintendo
12 15 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* Nintendo
13 22 Animal Crossing: New Horizons* Nintendo
14 5 Overwatch Activision Blizzard (Corp)
15 18 Pokémon Legends: Arceus* Nintendo
16 7 Nintendo Switch Sports* Nintendo
17 25 Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War Activision Blizzard (Corp)
18 24 Far Cry 6 Ubisoft
19 37 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Activision Blizzard (Corp)
20 13 Monster Hunter Rise Capcom 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

Rank Last Month Rank All Platforms Publisher
1 1 Elden Ring Bandai Namco Entertainment
2 2 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Warner Bros. Interactive
3 3 Pokémon Legends: Arceus* Nintendo
4 4 Horizon II: Forbidden West Sony (Corp)
5 5 MLB: The Show 22^ Multiple Video Game Manufacturers
6 6 Call of Duty: Vanguard Activision Blizzard (Corp)
7 7 Gran Turismo 7 Sony (Corp)
8 8 Kirby and the Forgotten Land* Nintendo
9 9 Mario Kart 8* Nintendo
10 10 Madden NFL 22 Electronic Arts
11 12 Minecraft Multiple Video Game Manufacturers
12 11 Nintendo Switch Sports* Nintendo
13 13 FIFA 22 Electronic Arts
14 14 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Sony (Corp)
15 15 Monster Hunter: Rise Capcom USA
16 17 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* Nintendo
17 16 Animal Crossing: New Horizons* Nintendo
18 19 Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War Activision Blizzard (Corp)
19 18 Mario Party Superstars* Nintendo
20 20 Dying 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

Rank Last Month Rank All Platforms Publishers
1 1 Elden Ring Bandai Namco Entertainment
2 2 Call of Duty: Vanguard Activision Blizzard (Corp)
3 3 Madden NFL 22 Electronic Arts
4 4 Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl* Nintendo
5 5 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Warner Bros. Interactive
6 6 Battlefield 2042 Electronic Arts
7 7 FIFA 22 Electronic Arts
8 8 Far Cry 6 Ubisoft
9 9 Pokémon Legends: Arceus* Nintendo
10 10 Horizon II: Forbidden West Sony (Corp)
*Digital sales not included

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

Rank Last Month Rank Nintendo Platforms Publisher
1 NEW Xenoblade Chronicles* Nintendo
2 2 Mario Kart 8* Nintendo
3 4 Kirby and the Forgotten Land* Nintendo
4 5 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* Nintendo
5 9 Animal Crossing: New Horizons* Nintendo
6 7 Pokémon Legends: Arceus* Nintendo
7 3 Nintendo Switch Sports* Nintendo
8 NEW Live A Live* Nintendo
9 NEW Digimon Survive Bandai Namco Entertainment
10 11 Mario Party Superstars* Nintendo
*Digital sales not included

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

Rank Last Month Rank PlayStation Platforms Publisher
1 1 Elden Ring Bandai Namco Entertainment
2 2 MLB: The Show 22 Sony (Corp)
3 NEW MultiVersus Warner Bros. Interactive
4 9 Call of Duty: Vanguard Activision Blizzard (Corp)
5 12 Minecraft Microsoft (Corp)
6 5 Horizon II: Forbidden West Sony (Corp)
7 11 F1 22 Electronic Arts
8 10 Gran Turismo 7 Sony (Corp)
9 3 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Warner Bros. Interactive
10 4 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Sony (Corp)
*Digital sales not included

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

Rank Last Month Rank Xbox Platforms Publisher
1 NEW MultiVersus Warner Bros. Interactive
2 1 Elden Ring Bandai Namco Entertainment
3 5 Call of Duty: Vanguard Activision Blizzard (Corp)
4 9 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Activision Blizzard (Corp)
5 2 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Warner Bros. Interactive
6 3 Overwatch Activision Blizzard (Corp)
7 8 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) Activision Blizzard (Corp)
8 7 Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War Activision Blizzard (Corp)
9 4 F1 22 Electronic Arts
10 10 Forza Horizon 5 Microsoft (Corp)
*Digital sales not included
Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz

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