PlayStation 5, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 lead US in January - NPD

The NPD has released its January 2023 report finding PlayStation 5 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 reigning supreme across hardware and software, respectively, repeating performances from October and November 2022.

This is despite a year-over-year (yoy) decline in accessories, hardware, and software. According to the NPD, January 2023 results marked the first time the US game market experienced a year-on-year decline since September 2022, when consumer spending reached 4% below September 2021 levels.

The decline is attributed to a drop in mobile content, physical console content, and gamepad spending. Spending on gaming content fell 5% in January to $3.8 billion yoy; hardware sales were flat at $393 million compared to January 2022's $392 million.

In hardware, PS5 was the best-selling console in terms of units sold and dollar sales. Switch ranked second, and Xbox followed.

Software sales were dominated by Modern Warfare 2, followed by Dead Space Remake, Madden NFL 23, FIFA 23, and Fire Emblem Engage. New release Forspoken entered the chart in seventh place.

The best-selling games for January are below. Best-selling games per platform are no longer shared publicly by the NPD.

Accessories spending fell 14% yoy in January to $165 million. The decline is attributed to an overall decline in gamepad spending. The PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller Midnight Black was the best-selling accessory for the month.

In mobile, Sensor Tower reported the top five games by consumer spending were Candy Crush Saga, Roblox, Royal Match, Coin Master, and Township. Playriox's match-3 puzzle game starring Austin the Butler, Gardenscapes, moved up the mobile charts from 22 to 11. In-app spending on the title grew 21% yoy.