What you need to know
- Circana (formerly known as NPD) has provided information on the best-selling games and consoles of February 2023 in the United States.
- Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling game of the month on all platforms, followed closely by the Dead Space remake.
- The PS5 was the best-selling console of the month.
Circana — the recently rebranded name for the NPD Group — has provided sales insight into what games topped the charts in the U.S. in February 2023.
As shared by executive director and analyst Mat Piscatella, Hogwarts Legacy from Avalanche Software and WB Games was the #1 title, followed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Activision Blizzard and the Dead Space remake from Motive Studio and Electronic Arts.
Notably, both The Last of Us Part 1 and The Last of Us Part 2 are in the top 20 games sold. For consoles, the PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console in both dollar sales and units sold.
Total video game spending reached $4.6 billion for the month, a 6% increase year-over-year. Video game hardware sales reached $495 million, massive 63% increase year-over-year.
Below, you can find the full details on the best-selling games in the U.S. for the month. It's important to remember that for games, Circana tracks total dollar sales, not units sold, and some publishers (notably Nintendo) do not provide digital sales data.
February 2023 Circana: Here are the top 20 games sold in the U.S.
1. Hogwarts Legacy
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
3. Dead Space remake
4. Madden NFL 23
5. FIFA 23
6. The Last of Us Part 1
7. Elden Ring
8. Wild Hearts
9. Like a Dragon: Ishin!
10. Octopath Traveler 2
11. God of War Ragnarok
12. Minecraft
13. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*
14. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
15. Kirby's Return to Dream Land*
16. Company of Heroes 3
17. Sonic Frontiers
18. The Last of Us Part 2
19. NBA 2K23
20. Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line
*Denotes no digital sales data
Windows Central's take
Hogwarts Legacy's sales success so far is nothing surprising, though I am curious how much of a splash the Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch versions will make, since the launch of those editions was delayed by several months.
I'm extremely happy to see the Dead Space remake continuing to do so well, as it was previously the number one game for the January 2023 sales period in the U.S. In my Dead Space remake review, I found it was one of the best horror games someone could want.
It's also fun to see both of The Last of Us titles in the sales charts, definitely being driven by the success of the HBO show. Looking ahead, I'm expecting the Resident Evil 4 remake to make a big impact for March 2023.
