The former NPD Group (now named “Circana”) has released its full North American sales data for January, and it seems like it was a pretty solid month for the industry, although direct comparisons are difficult because five weeks, including the first few days of February (up until February 3 to be exact) were reported on this time around. Regardless, players spent $5.1 billion on games, additional content, and hardware in January and early February. The PlayStation 5 was the #1 console as usual, with Nintendo and Microsoft battling it out for second place honors – Switch was #2 in unit sales, while Xbox Series X/S was #2 in dollar sales.
On the software front, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III continued its run at #1, and Tekken 8 was the top new game, coming in at #2. Despite being deemed a disappointment by Warner Bros, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League came in at #3, followed by Persona 3 Reload at #4 (remember, these charts include the first few days of February). Other new additions include Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth at #7 and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown at #13.
But wait, what about Palworld? The official Circana charts only track traditional premium games, not Early Access titles like Palworld, but according to Circana’s player engagement tracking, Palworld was indeed the #1 most-played game on Steam, and the #3 most-played on Xbox, indicating it’s more of hit on PC than it is on console.
Here are January’s top 20 premium games according to Circana:
1 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
2 - Tekken 8
3 - Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
4 - Persona 3 Reload
5 - Madden NFL 24
6 - Hogwarts Legacy
7 - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
8 - EA Sports FC 24
9 - The Last of Us Part II
10 - Spider-Man 2
11 - Super Mario Bros. Wonder
12 - Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
13 - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
14 - Elden Ring
15 - Mortal Kombat 1
16 - Gran Turismo 7
17 - Minecraft
18 - Mario Kart 8
19 - Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash
20 - God of War Ragnarok
What are your thoughts on the January NPD/Circana charts? Any big surprises or things you’re happy to see?
