The United States – shooters and franchises
In 2022, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) (published by Activision Blizzard) was the top-selling video game in the United States based on dollar sales. Call of Duty titles took the first and twelfth spots in the annual ranking of the leading video games, followed by RPG Elden Ring and the sports game Madden NFL 22. U.S. gamers are loyal to their franchises – virtually all the top-selling games of the year were part of some gaming franchise, with Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarök, and Horizon II: Forbidden West being the only titles that were not part of a bigger series.A snapshot of the monthly video game sales in the United States reveals that for the full year 2023, RPG titles Hogwarts Legacy or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom may claim a spot among the best-selling video games in the United States – a feat made even more impressive by the fact that the games have nothing to do with sports or shooters.
The United Kingdom – football (of course)
The picture is fairly similar when looking at the United Kingdom, the biggest gaming market in Europe: sports games and shooters reign supreme, with EA’s FIFA series taking up two spots in the top 7 of the best-selling games in the UK in 2022. Football is also the name of the game in terms of the UK’s top-selling video games based on physical unit sales in the UK as FIFA 23 was the top title of the year in that regard.Other European markets – more football and Mario
The UK is not the only market where FIFA 23 is the biggest game of the year. In 2022, the popularity of football in Europe is highlighted as FIFA 23 was the top-selling game in 19 major European gaming markets. Across Europe, Pokémon Legends: Arceus ranked in second place, followed by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.Other leading games in Europe include the ever-popular Nintendo Switch Sports, NHL 23, Gran Turismo 7 and the aforementioned Elden Ring. In fact, Great Britain was the only market in Europe where a Call of Duty title ranked among the top 3 best-selling games of the year.