September may have been crowded with games hiding from Grand Theft Auto VI’s launch window, but it doesn’t seem to have diminished gamers’ interest in new games. According to industry tracking firm Circana, the September sales charts are chockful of new releases, with Marvel’s Wolverine from Insomniac taking the top spot on the bestseller list.
| September 2026 Dollar Sales, Millions | Sept 2025 | Sept 2026 | Change |
| Total Video Game Sales (Projected to Total Market) | $4,796 | $4,756 | -1% |
| Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR platforms) | $4,273 | $4,177 | -2% |
| Video Game Hardware | $324 | $362 | 12% |
| Video Game Accessories | $199 | $218 | 10% |
According to Mat Piscatella, Circana’s director of video games, Wolverine “delivered the highest launch month dollar sales for a Sony published game since February 2024’s Helldivers II. At the same time, PlayStation 5 hardware dollar sales increased by 43% compared to a year ago, helping Sony achieve its highest hardware dollar share in a month since May 2025.”
Hardware sales other than PlayStation 5 were not especially encouraging, with Xbox Series sales down year-on-year by 2% and Nintendo Switch 2 sales down 12%. Similarly, in the year-to-date charts, PlayStation sales are up 22% year-on-year, while Switch 2 sales are down 14% and Xbox Series sales are down 27%. Overall Xbox consoles sales were at a record low for aa September month.
| Year-to-Date 2026 Dollar Sales, Millions | YTD 2025 | YTD 2026 | Change |
| Total Video Game Sales (Projected to Total Market) | $42,234 | $41,038 | -3% |
| Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR platforms) | $37,218 | $36,340 | -2% |
| Video Game Hardware | $3,180 | $2,905 | -9% |
| Video Game Accessories | $1,835 | $1,794 | -2% |
Another notable figure from the charts this month is that non-mobile subscription spending is down year-on-year. This marks the first drop in such spending since February 2024, though there’s no clear indication of why such spending is down. Given that this category includes varied subscriptions such as MMOs and cloud gaming platforms, this dip could be attributed to any number of factors.
Circana September 2026: Top 10 best-selling games in the U.S.
| Rank | Last Month Rank | Title | Publisher |
| 1 | NEW | Marvel’s Wolverine^ | Sony (Corp) |
| 2 | 1 | NBA 2K27^ | Take-Two Interactive |
| 3 | NEW | EA Sports FC 27* | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | NEW | Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave* | Nintendo |
| 5 | NEW | The Blood of Dawnwalker^ | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 6 | NEW | Wardogs* | Team17 |
| 7 | NEW | Onimusha: Way of the Sword^ | Capcom USA |
| 8 | NEW | Halloween: The Game* | IllFonic Publishing |
| 9 | NEW | Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve^ | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 10 | 2 | Madden NFL 27* | Electronic Arts |
*Includes Digital Sales Projections
New games absolutely dominate September’s charts, with eight new games making the list. The top-seller for the month is Marvel’s Wolverine, which appears to have sold decently despite mixed reception from gamers. GamesBeat’s own Sam Smith said in his review, “The game’s linear design and repetitive combat will give the title a relatively short shelf life.”
The rest of the games on the list come from a variety of genres and speak to the many hungers of the gaming audience. From Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave’s time-bending tactical strategy, to Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s action gameplay to Halloween: The Game’s survival horror multiplayer modes; gamers played a dizzying range of different games.
One standout on the list is the still-in-early-access Wardogs, which appears to have taken over from titles like Big Walk and Meccha Chameleon as this month’s “friendslop” game. The most recent sales figure that Team17 offered was three million units sold, as of last month.
Circana September 2026: 10 best-selling games of 2025 so far
| Rank | Last Month Rank | Title | Publisher |
| 1 | 3 | NBA 2K27^ | Take-Two Interactive |
| 2 | 1 | Resident Evil: Requiem^ | Capcom USA |
| 3 | 2 | 007 First Light* | IO Interactive |
| 4 | 4 | MLB: The Show^* | Multiple Video Game Publishers |
| 5 | 5 | Crimson Desert* | Pearl Abyss |
| 6 | 6 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II* | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 7 | 7 | Forza Horizon 6* | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 8 | 8 | Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 9 | LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight^ | Warner Bros. Games |
| 10 | 10 | Pokemon: Pokopia* | Nintendo |
*Includes Digital Sales Projections
The year-end list changed very little compared with the monthly bestseller list. In fact, none of the September games have pierced the top 10 of the year at all. The only major change of the month is that NBA 2K27 has overtaken Resident Evil Requiem as the best-selling game of the year. However, the next few months should be illuminating with the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake.