In what I’m sure is the most shocking news of this month, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the best-selling game in May, according to industry-tracking firm Circana (formerly known as the NPD Group). It’s also the only new game released in May to make the list, though again that’s probably not a huge surprise to anyone. Video game sales in general — and console game sales in particular — also rose in May compared with the same period last year.
May 2023 Dollar Sales, Millions
May 2022
May 2023
Change
Total Video Game Sales
$3,665
$4,118
12%
Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR platforms)
$3,310
$3,622
9%
Video Game Hardware
$216
$338
56%
Video Game Accessories
$139
$159
14%
*Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower
“Spending on video game content grew 9% in May when compared to a year ago, reaching $3.6 billion,” said Mat Piscatella, Circana’s executive producer for games reports. “Console full game and add-on content spending increased 58% when compared to May 2022, offsetting declines across Mobile and PC. New physical video game software spending reached its highest May total since May 2014.”
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Rachel Kaser is a gaming and technology writer for from Dallas, Texas. She's been in the games industry since 2013, writing for various publications, and currently covers news for GamesBeat. Her favorite game is Bayonetta.
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