NPD October: Far Cry 6 Leads Software Sales; Nintendo Switch Back on Top

The NPD Group’s monthly report tracking spending across the US video game industry is out for October, which illustrates another month of year-on-year growth over the same period as has been the case throughout 2021. In October, sales were led by Far Cry 6, Back 4 Blood, and Metroid Dread on the software side, while Nintendo Switch and Sony’s PlayStation 5 were the month’s most lucrative hardware platforms.

As usual, The NPD Groups’ Mat Piscatella broke down the company’s findings over on Twitter. Below you can find a round-up of his Tweets with the accompanying graphics to highlight each segment’s performance.

Overall Spending

• October 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories grew 16% vs YA, reaching an October record $4.4 billion. Year-to-date consumer spending reached $46.7 billion, gaining 12% when compared to the same period in 2020.

13 Month Trend

• Hardware dollar sales gained 82% compared to a year ago, helping lead the market to 16% total YoY growth. Content was also strong – double-digit percentage gains were achieved across all content segments in October vs YA.

Hardware

• October video game hardware dollar sales increased 82% when compared to October 2020, to $472 million. Year-to-date hardware spending has increased 53% when compared to the same period a year ago, reaching $3.9 billion.

Software

• Far Cry 6 debuted as October’s best-selling game, instantly becoming the 8th best-selling game of 2021 to date. Far Cry 6 ranked 1st on both PlayStation and Xbox platforms in October.
• Back 4 Blood was October’s #2 best-selling game, also ranking 2nd on both PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
• Metroid: Dread debuted as October’s #3 best-selling game, while also ranking 1st on Switch. Metroid: Dread achieved the highest launch month sales of any Metroid franchise release in tracked history.
• Launch month physical dollar sales of Metroid: Dread nearly doubled those of the previous franchise best, Metroid: Prime.

Mobile (Via Sensor Tower)

• October was the eighth consecutive month of U.S. consumer spending on mobile games in excess of $2 billion, while spend has surpassed that mark in nine out of 10 months so far in 2021.

• Year-over-year revenue growth for the space was nearly 12% in October, up from 11% the month prior, signaling increased purchasing momentum into the holiday season compared to pre-pandemic norms, which saw single-digit YoY increases at this point in 2019.

• Top U.S. mobile games by revenue in October 2021 included Candy Crush Saga, Garena Free Fire, Roblox, Coin Master, Pokémon GO, Call of Duty: Mobile, Homescapes, Lords Mobile, Clash Royale, and Genshin Impact.

Accessories

• October 2021 spending on video game accessories increased 5% when compared to a year ago, to $158 million. Year-to-date accessory sales reached $1.9 billion, increasing 9% when compared to a year ago.
• Gamepads remain the best-selling accessory segment year-to-date, with growth of 7% when compared to the same period a year ago.
• The Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller was the best-selling accessory of October, while the PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller White remains the best-selling accessory of the year.

Software Charts

The below slideshow features data on the best-selling software in March and year-to-date.

To compare this month’s results to September, it’s here.