Top-Selling Games And Consoles Of October 2021 Revealed (US) (2024)

By Eddie Makuch on November 12, 2021 at 6:36AM PST

3 Comments

The NPD Group has released its latest monthly sales report, revealing the best-selling games, systems, and accessories for October 2021, and providing an overall snapshot of the health of the US gaming business.

In total, spending across hardware, software, and accessories rose by 16% to $4.4 billion, which is a new record for October. For the first 10 months of the year, total spending hit $46.7 billion, which is up 12%.

For hardware specifically, the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console for October in terms of unit and dollar sales alike. The launch of the Switch OLED model in October helped drive Switch sales overall, NPD said. The PS5 remains the best-selling console of 2021 by total dollars, but the Switch is the leader for units.

In October, total spending on hardware surged by 82% to $472 million, while year-to-date spending jumped 53% to $3.9 billion.

Shifting to games, Far Cry 6 was the best-selling game overall in the US during October 2021, while Back 4 Blood finished the month at No. 2.

Metroid: Dread, meanwhile, was the third best-selling game overall in the US. Launch-month sales for Dread were the highest ever for the Metroid series, while dollar sales for physical copies "nearly doubled" the previous record-holder, Metroid: Prime.

A list of the top 20 best-selling games of October 2021 can be seen below.

For mobile, total spending surpassed $2 billion for October, with Candy Crush Saga, Garena Free Fire, Roblox, Coin Master, Pokemon Go, Call of Duty Mobile, Homescapes, Lords Mobile, Clash Royale, and Genshin Impact driving the most revenue. Total spending on games in October hit $3.758 billion, up 11%.

For accessories, spending jumped by 5% to $158 million, with the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller finishing as the best-selling accessory overall in October. The PS5 DualSense white controller, however, is the best-seller for the year so far.

Top 20 Best-Selling Games Of October 2021 (US)

1. Far Cry 6
2. Back 4 Blood
3. Metroid: Dread*
4. Madden NFL 22
5. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles
6. FIFA 22
7. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
8. Mario Party Superstars*
9. NHL 22
10. NBA 2K22*
11. Mario Kart 8*
12. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
13. Ghost of Tsushima
14. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
15. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
16. Minecraft
17. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
18. Diablo II: Resurrected
19. Mortal Kombat 11
20. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*

*Digital sales not included

All Platforms Year-To-Date Ending October 2021

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
2. Madden NFL 22
3. MLB The Show 21^
4. Resident Evil Village
5. Super Mario 3D World*
6. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Moralses
7. Mario Kart 8*
8. Far Cry 6
9. Minecraft
10. Assassin's Creed Valhalla

* Digital sales not included

^ Xbox digital sales not included

October 2021 Nintendo

No digital sales included

1. Metroid Dread
2. Mario Party Superstars
3. Mario Kart 8
4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
7. Pokemon Sworld/Shield
8. Super Mario 3D World
9. Minecraft
10. New Super Mario Bros.

October 2021 PlayStation

1. Far Cry 6
2. Back 4 Blood
3. Madden NFL 22
4. FIFA 22
5. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles
6. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
7. NHL 22
8. NBA 2K22*
9. Ghost of Tsushima
10. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

*Digital sales not included

October 2021 Xbox

1. Far Cry 6
2. Back 4 Blood
3. Madden NFL 22
4. FIFA 22
5. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles
6. NHL 22
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
8. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
9. NBA 2K22*
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)

* Digital sales not included

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