Elden Ring rockets back up in sales thanks to Shadow of the Erdtree expansion in June 2024, per Circana

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree promotional screenshot
Shadow of the Erdtree gives Elden Ring players a new land to explore. (Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.)

What you need to know

  • Every month, Circana provides insight into the best-selling games and hardware of that month in the U.S.
  • FromSoftware and Bandai Namco's Elden Ring rocketed back up to the #1 spot for June 2024, boosted by the launch of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. 
  • Elden Ring was the best-selling game of the month on Xbox, PlayStation, and Windows PC via Steam.
  • The month saw a bevy of surprising titles in its best-sellers, including Kingdom Hearts and The Elder Scrolls Online. 

The Tarnished are gathering in great numbers. 

Developer FromSoftware and publisher Bandai Namco's role-playing game Elden Ring was the best-selling game of June 2024 in the U.S, per Circana executive director and advisor Mat Piscatella, who shared details on Friday for the month's game and hardware sales. Piscatella notes that Elden Ring was the best-selling game on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam platforms, largely thanks to the launch of the widely-anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree expansion that same month.

Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) took second place, while the Steam release for the compilation of Kingdom Hearts titles managed to secure the third spot. Elsewhere, May 2024's top title Ghost of Tsushima fell to #12, while The Elder Scrolls Online managed to make it into the top 20.

For gaming hardware, the PlayStation 5 was the best-seller of the month, with Nintendo Switch again second in units sold and Xbox Series X|S consoles second in dollar sales. Overall, the U.S. gaming industry saw $4.6 billion in sales for June 2024, down about 5% year-over-year.

June 2024 Circana: Here are the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S.

1. Elden Ring

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

3. Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece

4. Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

5. Hogwarts Legacy

6. Minecraft

7. MLB The Show 24**

8. Luigi's Mansion 2 HD

9. EA Sports FC 24

10. Sea of Thieves

11. Helldivers 2

12. Ghost of Tsushima

13. Marvel's Spider-Man 2

14. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door*

15. Mortal Kombat 1

16. UFC 5

17. Mario Kart 8*

18. The Elder Scrolls Online

19. Dragon's Dogma 2

20. Street Fighter 6

June 2024 Circana: Here are the best-selling games of the year so far

1. Helldivers 2

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

3. Dragon's Dogma 2

4. MLB The Show 24**

5. Elden Ring 

6. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

7. WWE 2K24***

8. Tekken 8

9. Madden NFL 24

10. Hogwarts Legacy 

11. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

12. NBA 2K24***

13. EA Sports FC 24

14. Persona 3 Reload

15. Grand Theft Auto 5***

16. Minecraft

17. Sea of Thieves

18. Marvel's Spider-Man 2

19. Stellar Blade

20. Rise of the Ronin

*Denotes no digital sales data
**Denotes no digital sales data on Xbox or Nintendo Switch
***Denotes no digital sales data for April through June

Analysis: A gaggle of assorted titles

The sheer variety this month really is something to behold. While the usual mainstays are holding on and Elden Ring's seismic return was easy to guess, titles like Kingdom Hearts and The Elder Scrolls Online are doing far better than expected based on historical precedent. 

I like these kinds of months, as it shows there's still plenty of variety in what people are buying. Even so, I'm really looking forward to next month's report, which should give some insight into just how much the return of College Football has done to push more casual players into the current generation of gaming hardware.

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Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.