Sales data has revealed that Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 remained the best-selling game in the U.S. for the fourth consecutive month in January, while total video game sales declined by 5% year-on-year owing to drops in mobile content, physical console content and gamepad spending. The Last of Us: Part 1 shot up from 36th best-selling game in December 2022 to 11th place in January 2023, owing to the debut of its popular HBO adaptation. Over in the hardware department, the PS5 DualSense Controller in Midnight Black was the best-selling gaming accessory in January 2023.
January 2022 US NPD THREAD – U.S. consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories totaled $4.3 billion, a decline of 5% when compared to a year ago. Video game hardware spending was flat, while content (-5%) and accessories (-14%) spending fell. pic.twitter.com/TvmxTayZr6
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) February 13, 2023
Total video game spending declined by 5% year-on-year from $4.589 billion to $4.347 billion, attributed to drops in mobile content, physical console content, and gamepad spending. This result is in spite of the upcoming launch of the PSVR2 headset and its Sense controllers, as well as the upcoming DualSense Edge modular PS5 controller.
| Jan. 2023 Dollar Sales (in Millions) | Jan. 22 | Jan. 23 | Change |
| Total Video Game Sales | 4589 | 4347 | -5% |
| Video Game Content (incl. full games, DLC/MTX, and subscriptions across all platforms | 4006 | 3788 | -5% |
| Video Game Hardware | 392 | 393 | 0% |
| Video Game Accessories | 191 | 165 | -14% |
October 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 remained the best-selling game in the U.S. in January 2023 for the fourth consecutive month. January 2023’s Dead Space remake came in at second place, followed by Madden NFL 23 and then FIFA 23. The Last of Us Part 1 was #36 in sales in December 2022, but rose 25 places to #11 coinciding with the debut of HBO’s adaptation of the original title.
| Jan. 2023 Best-Selling Premium Games (Excluding DLC/MTX) | ||
| Rank | Last Month Rank | Title |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 |
| 2 | NEW | Dead Space (2023) |
| 3 | 4 | Madden NFL 23 |
| 4 | 5 | FIFA 23 |
| 5 | NEW | Fire Emblem Engage |
| 6 | 7 | Elden Ring |
| 7 | NEW | Forspoken |
| 8 | 3 | God of War: Ragnarok |
| 9 | NEW | One Piece: Odyssey |
| 10 | 2 | Pokemon: Scarlet / Violet |
Video game hardware spending remained flat in the U.S. year-on-year, with the PS5 leading the market in both unit and dollar sales followed by the Nintendo Switch. Growth in the sales of both consoles was offset by a decline in the sales of other consoles. Meanwhile, video game accessory spending fell by 14% year-on-year from $191 million to $165 million despite the upcoming launch of the DualSense Edge and the PSVR2 Sense controllers. A drop in gamepad spending reportedly accounted for most of this decline, though the PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller in Midnight Black was the month’s best-selling accessory in the U.S.
If you’re curious about the reasons behind Modern Warfare 2’s invincible streak, check out our review of the game’s Campaign mode, where we felt confident saying “(Infinity Ward) are the very best studio making Call of Duty campaigns.”
Source: The NPD Group