Bright and colorful games like Splatoon 2 and Crash Bandicoot may have topped the sales chart in the heart of summer, but brown military shooters are still the biggest sellers. Call of Duty even had a hot July with three separate games making the top 20 best-selling chart in the United States, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group.
“Three games from the Call of Duty franchise reached the top 20 in July, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered joining June carryovers Call of Duty: Black Ops III, and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “Over the 12-month period ending July 2017, Call of Duty is the market’s best-selling video game franchise and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare the best-selling game.”
Activision, the publisher for the Call of Duty games, launched Modern Warfare Remastered as a standalone purchase in July. This classic update was only available by buying a deluxe version of last year’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. This now means that Call of Duty has a franchise entry from 2016 (Infinite Warfare), 2015 (Black Ops III), and 2007 (Modern Warfare) all on the top 20 list at the same time.
While Call of Duty had a strong July and the last 12 months, it’s Ubisoft’s military shooter franchise that is owning 2017 so far.
“Year to date, Tom Clancy is the best-selling game franchise in the U.S.,” said Piscatella. “Tom Clancy Ghost Recon: Wildlands is the best-selling game, and Ubisoft the top-selling publisher.”
The other game contributing to Tom Clancy’s performance is Rainbow Six: Siege. That shooter debuted in December, but its sales have held steady as Ubisoft has leaned heavily into the games-as-a-service business model. Siege has seen regular updates as well as an active esports scene.