October 2022 NPD: Modern Warfare 2 takes gold on the wire

Gaming hardware sales are down and consumer spending is still on a slight downward trend in October. The PlayStation 5 is also selling well, according to industry research firm The NPD Group. Several games launched in October have also made the best-seller list, though none have done as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

“U.S. consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories totaled $4.3 billion in October 2022, up from a year ago,” said NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. “Growth in digital sales and subscriptions for console and PC video game content, largely driven by the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, was offset by declines in sales of mobile content and video game hardware.”

It’s hardly a surprise that a Call of Duty title sold so well. It’s more of a surprise that sales of mobile devices and hardware are starting to decline. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles both seem to be selling well, but the aging Switch could explain the dip. Further, according to data provided by Sensor Tower, mobile spending in the US will “see a decline for the first time ever” as it competes with non-mobile releases for attention.

Piscatella said: “Expenses to date are down 7% compared to this point in 2021, to $42.7 billion.”

October 2022 NPD: Top 20 Best Selling Games of the Month in the US

NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but also gets digital data directly from publishers. Not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share its sales with the first party, and Activision Blizzard doesn’t deliver its Battle.net sales.

These charts are sorted by dollar sales – not units sold. And this is for full game sales and does not include in-game expenses.

Several of the games on the list were new releases in October – more than in previous months. There have been enough games this month to make up for the relatively slow months earlier in the fall and late summer.

In addition to the new games, at least two games have risen to about 200 spots on the list. Persona 5 has made one of the biggest comebacks of the year, likely prompted by the release of the Royal Edition on next-gen consoles, Switch, and PC. NieR: Automata also received a surge in numbers thanks to its release on Switch.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Bayonetta 3

That the new Call of Duty game is doing well in the charts is not exactly a surprise, but the success is there. According to Activision Blizzard figures, the game sold $1 billion in resale within 10 days of its launch. The game also launched on October 28, meaning it managed to top the list of the month with just a few hours to go.

Bayonetta 3, which also launched on the same day as Modern Warfare 2 and was also on the list despite its late debut. It also worked with the handicap that it’s a Switch exclusive and that the NPD’s dataset doesn’t include any digital sales from the platform.

Gotham Knights and other new releases

Gotham Knights also debuted high on the charts – not high enough to dismiss Modern Warfare 2, but still pretty good. While our review of the game was less than favorable, it seems that the game did well with fans, probably due to its high-profile IP address. It’s also the only other game this month, other than Modern Warfare 2, to make the 2022 best-selling list so far (see below). The same list also shows how much more Call of Duty has been sold, as Modern Warfare 2 debuted in 2nd place and Gotham Knights in 14th.

Other chart-topping new releases include Japanese RPG Star Ocean: The Divine Force and Mario title Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. Sports titles continue to sell well, with new additions like NHL 23 and PGA Tour 2K23.

October 2022 NPD: 20 best-selling games of 2022 so far

October 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Games of the Past 12 Months

October 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Nintendo Platform Games in the US

October 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling PlayStation Platform Games in the US

October 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling Xbox Platform Games in the US