The former NPD Group (now named “Circana”) has released its full North American sales data for April, and it was a bit of a down month for the industry. Players spent $4.1 billion on games, additional content, and hardware in April, down 3 percent year-on-year. While software spending was up slightly, hardware numbers were down a whopping 43 percent year-on-year. As has been the case for a several month straight, PS5 was #1 in terms of unit and dollar sales, Switch was #2 in terms of unit sales, and Xbox Series X/S was #2 in terms of dollar sales.
Sony had a lot to be happy about on the software front, as Stellar Blade debuted at #1 and Helldivers 2 held steady at #2 in its third month on the market. A number of previously-Xbox-exclusive games that launched on PlayStation in April also hopped up the charts – Sea of Thieves went from #55 in March to #4 in April and Grounded went from #167 to #12. Meanwhile, the effect of the Fallout TV series was also felt, boosting Fallout 4 to #5 and Fallout 76 up to #8.
Here are April’s top 20 premium games according to Circana:
1 – Stellar Blade
2 – Helldivers 2
3 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
4 – Sea of Thieves
5 – Fallout 4
6 – MLB The Show 24
7 – Dragon’s Dogma 2
8 – Fallout 76
9 – Hogwarts Legacy
10 – EA Sports FC 24
11 – Rise of the Ronin
12 – Grounded
13 – Minecraft
14 – Madden NFL 24
15 – Princess Peach: Showtime!
16 – Rainbow Six Siege
17 – Tekken 8
18 – Mario Kart 8
19 – Elden Ring
20 – Spider-Man 2
And here are the top games of 2024 to date:
1 – Helldivers 2
2 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
3 – Dragon’s Dogma 2
4 – MLB The Show 24
5 – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
6 – Tekken 8
7 – Madden NFL 24
8 – Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
9 – Hogwarts Legacy
10 – Persona 3 Reload
What are your thoughts on the April NPD/Circana charts? Any big surprises or things you’re happy to see?
