The NPD Group – U.S. Games Industry Sales – October 2022 (notes provided by NPD’s VG industry analyst, Mat Piscatella) 

U.S. consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories totaled $4.3 billion during October 2022, flat when compared to a year ago. Growth in digital sales and subscriptions for console and PC video game content, driven in large part by the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, was offset by declines in mobile content and video game hardware sales. Year-to-date spending has fallen 7% compared to this point in 2021, at $42.7 billion.

October video game content sales grew 2% when compared to October 2021, to $3.7 billion. Content performance was driven by the favorable comparable of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 releasing in the October tracking period compared to Call of Duty: Vanguard’s release in the November tracking period a year ago. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was October’s best-selling title in dollar sales – the 15th consecutive year that a Call of Duty release has ranked as the best-selling game during its release month. Eight of the top 20 best-selling games of October 2022 were new releases, including Gotham Knights, which ranked 2nd in October while debuting as the 14th best-selling game of 2022 year to date.

Dollar sales of video game hardware fell 10% in October when compared to a year ago, to $424 million. Double-digit percentage dollar sales growth for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles was offset by declines on other platforms. PlayStation 5 was the best-selling video game hardware of October in both unit and dollar sales, while Xbox Series ranked 2nd across both measures.

Accessories spending in October declined 8% when compared to a year ago, to $148 million. The PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller Midnight Black was the best-selling accessory of October in dollar sales.

Mobile Spotlight (notes provided by Sensor Tower’s Dennis Yeh)

Major non-mobile launches like Overwatch 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have added to the dual headwinds of macroeconomic pressures and increased competition for attention as U.S. mobile gaming spend declined year over year again. Barring a major holiday season, annual mobile gaming spend in the U.S. will see a decline for the first time ever.

October’s top 10 mobile games by U.S. consumer spending were: Candy Crush Saga, Roblox, Royal Match, Clash of Clans, Coin Master, Pokémon Go, Ebony, Township, Bingo Blitz, and Homescapes. For player spend share for specific game subgenres, Casinos saw the largest year-over-year share gain while Shooters saw the largest year-over-year share loss.