October was a strong month for the gaming industry, with eight of the top ten best-selling games in the U.S. being new releases.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 topped the charts, contributing to a 10% year-over-year increase in U.S. video game spending, which reached $4.7 billion.
According to Circana's monthly report (via IGN), Black Ops 6 is already the third best-selling game of the year and saw sales 23% higher in its first two weeks than last year's Modern Warfare 3 over the same period.
Mat Piscatella of Circana noted that 82% of the game's full dollar sales came from PlayStation 5, likely because Xbox players opted to access the game through Game Pass instead of purchasing it outright.
Game Pass And Subscription Growth
The availability of Black Ops 6 on Game Pass appears to have driven growth in video game subscription spending, which increased 16% year-over-year in October.
This suggests that the game attracted new subscribers to Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ:MSFT) platform while maintaining strong sales elsewhere.
Dragon Ball And Silent Hill Stand Out
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero secured the second spot on October's sales charts and became the best-selling Dragon Ball game in the U.S. The game is also now the third best-selling title in Bandai Namco Holdings ADR's (OTC:NCBDY) history, following Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3.
The Silent Hill 2 remake came in third and is now the second best-selling game in the franchise, second only to the original Silent Hill 2.
Sales Shifts from Discounts and Game Pass
The Final Fantasy I-VI Collection moved up from No. 90 in September to No. 19 in October, likely due to a significant price drop on Nintendo ADR's (OTC:NTDOY) Nintendo Switch. Meanwhile, Sifu climbed to No. 9 on Xbox's monthly active users chart after being added to Game Pass.
Hardware And Accessories Performance
Hardware sales saw a 23% decline compared to last year. Nintendo Switch sales dropped 38%, while PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series sales were down 20% and 18%, respectively. The PlayStation 5 remains the top-selling console in both units and dollar sales, with Xbox Series consoles in second place.
In accessories, spending increased by 15%, with Sony Group Corp's (NYSE:SONY) PlayStation Portal becoming the month's best-selling item.
Top 20 Best-Selling Games In October
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
- Silent Hill 2
- Undisputed
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Super Mario Party Jamboree!*
- Madden NFL 25
- Sonic X Shadow Generations
- EA Sports FC 25
- EA Sports College Football 25
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom*
- Hogwarts Legacy
- NHL 25
- Astro Bot
- Minecraft*
- NBA 2K25
- Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
- Final Fantasy I-VI Bundle
- Elden Ring
(*Digital sales data for some titles are not included in Circana's report.)
As the year approaches its final months, upcoming Black Friday deals may impact both hardware and software sales.
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Image credits: Shutterstock.
