The NPD Group has released some of their North American sales data for December (the full numbers should arrive tomorrow, and we’ll update this story when they do) and we now know the overall winners for the year. From Software’s acclaimed Elden Ring topped the sales charts for much of 2022, leading some to speculate/hope it may end up the year’s top-seller, up-ending the seemingly-unbeatable longtime champion Call of Duty. Well, sorry Souls fans, it just wasn’t to be, as the power of the anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II was just too much. While the latest CoD was only available for the last couple months of the year, it is officially the best-selling game of 2022.
Looking at the December top 10, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II held the top spot, while Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and God of War Ragnarok continued to perform well at #2 and #3 respectively. Elden Ring also made a last holiday push, returning to #7 after falling out of the top 10 the previous month. As for new games, Need for Speed Unbound debuted at #8 and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Reunion came in at #10.
Here are November’s top 10 games according to NPD (again, this will be updated to the usual top 20 later):
1 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
2 – Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
3 – God of War Ragnarok
4 – Madden NLF 23
5 – FIFA 23
6 – Sonic Frontiers
7 – Elden Ring
8 – Need for Speed Unbound
9 – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
10 – Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Reunion
And here are your top 10 games for 2022:
1 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
2 – Elden Ring
3 – Madden NFL 23
4 – God of War Ragnarok
5 – Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
6 – Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
7 – FIFA 23
8 – Pokemon Legends: Arceus
9 – Horizon Forbidden West
10 – MLB The Show 22
What are your thoughts on the year-end NPD numbers? What game do you think will top the 2023 charts, taking into account that Call of Duty is taking the year off?
