Spider-Man 2, PS5 Swings To Top Best Selling Charts For October 2023

October 2023 was considered the best-performing month for the gaming industry as Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and the PlayStation 5 became the best-selling game and hardware, respectively. According to a report from Circana’s Mat Piscatella, the superhero game was the best-selling premium release for the month based on statistics, which includes “physical and digital full game” based on dollar sales generated.

The “digital full game” includes digital game sales from the digital storefronts, DLCs, microtransactions, and subscription” spending for consoles, cloud gaming, mobile devices, portable systems, PC, and VR for the respective platforms except for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, NBA 2K24 and Lords of the Fallen. October 2023’s report also saw the gaming industry nab a five-month streak of Year-to-Year (YoY) growth in the United States based on spending for the month ending on 28th October 2023.

However, by that same token, US gaming consumers spend significantly less on video games for the same month, despite notable releases of Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Detective Pikachu Returns, and Forza Motorsport. Piscatella stated in a Twitter thread that game sales were decreasing by 5% YoY to $4,04 billion, with the last decline back in April 2023.

Oct 2023 US Video Game Market Highlights from Circana - U.S. consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories fell 5% vs YA, to $4.0B. Declines were experienced across all categories of spend. The dip was partially driven by Call of Duty shifting release months. pic.twitter.com/0CNEqxH0Mr

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) November 15, 2023

Similarly, the breakdown saw multiple declines across gaming content in October 2023, which dropped by 4% to $3.56 billion, including physical and digital games, DLCs, microtransactions, and subscriptions across platforms with additional data supplied by Sensor Tower. Hardware and Accessories also saw a decline in sales by 23% and 2%, respectively, for the same period.

Piscatella commented that the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in November 2023 had “partially” contributed to the decline in sales. Nevertheless, based on Year-to-date (YTD) consumer spending, gaming sales continue to strengthen as they were boosted by 2%, recording $43,4 billion in sales compared to the previous year, which recorded $42,7 billion in October 2022.

Furthermore, multiple gaming releases in October 2023 entered the Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games in the US alone with Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, UFC 5, NHL 24, Sonic Superstars, Forza Motorsport and Lords of the Fallen included. Based on the platforms, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 dominated PlayStation and Xbox in terms of most played for the month, while Counter-Strike 2 gained traction on PC and Baldur’s Gate 3 followed closely behind.