Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Swings to the Top in October 2023 U.S. Game Sales

According to Circana's October 2023 U.S. Video Game Market Highlights report, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 web-slinged its way to the best-selling game of the month, setting records as the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios title with 5 million copies sold in just 11 days. Simultaneously, the PlayStation 5 secured its reign as the best-selling console for October.

The top three games for the month included Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the Nintendo Switch and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Mirage. Surprisingly, last month's leader, Starfield, slipped to 14th place.

New releases made waves, with EA's UFC 5 claiming 7th place, followed by NHL 24 and Sega's Sonic Superstars at 8th and 9th place, respectively.

Top 10 Best-Selling Games of October 2023:

1. Marvel's Spider-Man 2
2. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
3. Assassin's Creed Mirage
4. Madden NFL 24
5. EA Sports FC 24
6. Mortal Kombat 1
7. UFC 5
8. NHL 24
9. Sonic Superstars
10. Hogwarts Legacy

Looking at the broader picture, the best-selling games of 2023, year-to-date, present a slightly different landscape:

1. Hogwarts Legacy
2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
3. Madden NFL 24
4. Marvel's Spider-Man 2
5. Diablo IV
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)
7. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
8. Mortal Kombat 1
9. Starfield
10. Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Despite impressive game sales, Circana's Mat Piscatella noted a 4 percent decline in video game content spending for October 2023, citing decreases in digital premium downloads, notably affected by the Call of Duty release date shift.

On the hardware front, the PS5 maintained its lead in both unit and dollar sales, with the Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch following. Year-to-date hardware spending increased by 6 percent, reaching $4 billion. However, overall video game hardware spending saw a 23 percent decline compared to the previous year, falling to $327 million. Piscatella highlighted double-digit percentage declines in dollar sales for all current-generation consoles compared to the same period a year ago.