For the third month in a row, football games have topped the U.S. sales chart, according to industry tracking firm Circana. Indeed, these three games represent two different kinds of football. While August and July were dominated by Madden NFL 25 and EA Sports College Football 25, respectively, September’s biggest seller was EA Sports FC 25. Circana reports that the latter also broke records. Highest launch month sales of any soccer game released in the US
| Sales in September 2024, millions of dollars | september 2023 | september 2024 | change |
| Video game total sales | $4,679 | $4,378 | -6% |
| Video game content (consumer spending on physical and digital full games, DLC/MTX, and subscriptions across console, cloud, mobile*, portable, PC, and VR platforms) | $4,018 | $3,910 | -3% |
| video game hardware | $445 | $251 | -44% |
| video game accessories | $216 | $217 | 1% |
Elsewhere in Circana’s report, however, the picture was less rosy. Video game hardware sales are still on the decline, but overall industry sales are down year-over-year. Mat Piscatella, executive producer of gaming reporting at Circana, said in a statement: This is the lowest total monthly hardware spending in September since 2019 ($242 million). ”
The year-to-date sales graph has not improved much, showing that total sales are roughly flat with the September 2023 graph. Video game content in particular is up 6% year-over-year, but that number is held back by an almost 30% decline from early 2023 to early 2024. Spending on mobile content is increasing, while most other statistics are decreasing, according to Sensor Tower data.
| Sales from 2024 to present, millions of dollars | YTD ends September 23rd | YTD ends September 24th | change |
| Video game total sales | $40,587 | $40,671 | 0% |
| Video game content (consumer spending on physical and digital full games, DLC/MTX, and subscriptions across console, cloud, mobile*, portable, PC, and VR platforms) | $35,138 | $36,193 | 3% |
| video game hardware | $3,651 | $2,549 | -30% |
| video game accessories | $1,798 | $1,928 | 7% |
There are several things worth noting from the specific sales results. According to Circana Sales, Xbox Series X sales are slightly ahead of Series S, accounting for 51% of all Xbox Series units sold to date. Accessory sales remain strong, with the PlayStation Portal being the best-selling accessory since the beginning of the year. 3% of all PlayStation 5 owners also own Portal.
Circana September 2024: Top 20 best-selling games in the US
| rank | last month rank | title | Publisher |
| 1 | new | EA Sports FC 25 | electronic arts |
| 2 | new | astro robot | Sony Corporation |
| 3 | 1 | Madden NFL 25 | electronic arts |
| 4 | new | The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom* | nintendo |
| 5 | 2 | EA Sports College Football 25 | electronic arts |
| 6 | 3 | Star Wars: Outlaw | Ubisoft |
| 7 | new | NBA 2K25* | take-two interactive |
| 8 | 6 | hogwarts legacy | warner bros games |
| 9 | new | NHL 25 | electronic arts |
| 10 | 29 | God of War: Ragnarok | Sony Corporation |
| 11 | 502 | dead rising | Capcom USA |
| 12 | 144 | Final Fantasy XVI | Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Co., Ltd.) |
| 13 | 5 | elden ring | bandai namco entertainment |
| 14 | 7 | Minecraft ^^ | multiple video game manufacturers |
| 15 | 8 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) | Microsoft (corporate) |
| 16 | new | Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classic | Capcom USA |
| 17 | twenty five | age of myth | Microsoft (corporate) |
| 18 | new | Space Marine II [Warhammer 40,000]* | focus entertainment |
| 19 | 15 | ghost of tsushima | Sony Corporation |
| 20 | 4 | EA Sports MVP Bundle | electronic arts |
^^ Does not include digital sales on Nintendo platforms
The October sales chart is quite saturated with new games, with seven new games entering the top 20 slots and five of them in the top 10. The top game is the aforementioned EA Sports FC 25, which beat out last year’s EA Sports FC 24. sales increased, breaking the sales record for a soccer title in its month of release. The fact that despite EA’s departure from the FIFA brand, EA’s soccer titles continue to chart strongly. The game was also the best-selling title on the PlayStation and Xbox platforms, and the fifth best-selling title on the Nintendo Switch. NBA 2K25 and NHL 25 were also successful sports games, debuting at No. 7 and No. 9 on the charts, respectively.
Sony’s Astro Bot is second only to FC 24 and is also the second best-selling game on the PlayStation platform. Nintendo’s new Zelda title, Echoes of Wisdom, was the fourth best-selling title and could have sold more, but Circana only has physical sales data for Nintendo products. Space Marine 2 was not only the 18th best-selling title, but also the 3rd most played game on Steam in September. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is the last new game to make the charts with brand recognition and familiar characters.
Circana’s September 2024 chart could be the most chaotic yet
The September sales charts include not only a large number of new games, but also a number of games that have rocketed up the charts from relatively low positions. The biggest example of this is Dead Rising. Thanks to the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, it has moved up from #502 to #11. Piscatella revealed on Bluesky Games are tracked by stock keeping unit (SKU). This means that sales of the remaster will also count towards the original. Age of Mythology appears to be receiving a similar boost thanks to the release of the Retold remaster.
Other games that moved up several spots were Final Fantasy XVI and God of War Ragnarok, which were released on PC on September 17th and 19th, respectively. While both games gained more recognition with their release on PC, God of War Ragnarok did manage to overcome some complaints from players about needing a PSN account to run the game.
Circana September 2024: 20 best-selling games of 2024 so far
| rank | last month rank | title | Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | EA Sports College Football 25 | electronic arts |
| 2 | 2 | Helldivers II | Sony Corporation |
| 3 | 3 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) | Microsoft (corporate) |
| 4 | 4 | EA Sports MVP Bundle | electronic arts |
| 5 | 5 | elden ring | bandai namco entertainment |
| 6 | 6 | Dragon’s Dogma II | Capcom USA |
| 7 | 12 | Madden NFL 25 | electronic arts |
| 8 | 7 | MLB: The Show 24^ | multiple video game manufacturers |
| 9 | 8 | WWE 2K24** | take-two interactive |
| 10 | new | EA Sports FC 25 | electronic arts |
| 11 | 10 | hogwarts legacy | warner bros games |
| 12 | 9 | Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth | Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Co., Ltd.) |
| 13 | 11 | tekken 8 | bandai namco entertainment |
| 14 | 13 | NBA 2K24** | take-two interactive |
| 15 | 14 | Grand Theft Auto V** | take-two interactive |
| 16 | 15 | Madden NFL 24 | electronic arts |
| 17 | 17 | Minecraft ^^ | multiple video game manufacturers |
| 18 | 16 | Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League | warner bros games |
| 19 | 18 | EA Sports FC 24 | electronic arts |
| 20 | 19 | P3: Persona 3: Reload | sega |
**Does not include digital sales from July to September
^^ Does not include digital sales on Nintendo platforms
Unlike the September sales chart, the year-to-date chart is relatively unchanged, with some slight rearrangements. The only September game to make it onto this chart was EA Sports FC 25, which also pushed its predecessor EA Sports FC 24 down one spot on the list. Madden NFL 25 continues to record strong sales and climb up the rankings.
