May 2020 NPD Video Game Sales Results

The video game market continues to soar this year and May of 2020 is one of the best on record. Overall sales came in at $977 million for the month, compared to $642 million a year ago – a massive 52% increase year-over-year. All sectors of the business saw increases, with gaming hardware up 56%, software up 67% and accessories and game cards up 32%. According to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, this is the highest tracked spend for the month of May since 2008, where $1.2 billion was spent thanks to the releases of Mario Kart Wii the month prior and GTA 4. The overall year of 2020 is slightly behind track of 2011, where year-to-date spending was at $5.7 billion compared to 2020’s total spending sitting at $5.5 billion.

So, what was selling so well for the month of May 2020? Pretty much evergreen titles make up most of the top 20 pieces of software sold. You have to go down all the way to spot 14 before seeing a new release, which is none other than Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition for the Switch. Speaking of Nintendo’s console, the Switch was once again the best selling hardware platform for the month in both unit and dollar sales. In fact, you have to go all the way back to May of 2009 to see a system sell more than the Switch did for the month, and that was the Nintendo DS. Year-to-date dollar sales of the Switch is the highest of any hardware platform in US history, surpassing even the Wii back in 2008.

Below are the top 20 software titles for May 2020. Keep in mind they are ranked based on dollar sales, not number of items sold. Also, Nintendo’s first party games don’t include digital sales, so some of them may have ranked even higher had those numbers been reported. Special thanks to Venturebeat and NPD for the data:

Top 20 Games For May 2020 U.S. Gaming Market

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
4. NBA 2K20
5. Mortal Kombat 11
6. Red Dead Redemption II
7. Minecraft*
8. Final Fantasy VII: Remake
9. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
10. Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order
11. Madden NFL 20 [EA Sports]
12. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
13. Need for Speed: Heat
14. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition*
15. Minecraft Dungeons*
16. Saints Row: The Third Remastered
17. MLB: The Show 20
18. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
19. Call of Duty: Black Ops III
20. FIFA 20 [EA Sports]

*Digital sales not included

Top 10 best-selling games so far this year

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
3. Final Fantasy VII: Remake
4. Grand Theft Auto V
5. NBA 2K20
6. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
7. MLB: The Show 20
8. Resident Evil 3
9. Madden NFL 20 [EA Sports]
10. Red Dead Redemption II

Top 10 best-selling games of the last 12 months

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. NBA 2K20
3. Madden NFL 20 [EA Sports]
4. Borderlands 3
5. Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
8. FIFA 20 [EA Sports]
9. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
10. Pokémon: Sword*

May 2020: Top 10 best-selling Xbox One games

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
4. Minecraft Dungeons
5. Mortal Kombat 11
6. Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order
7. NBA 2K20
8. Saints Row: The Third Remastered
9. Madden NFL 20 [EA Sports]
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Remastered

May 2020: Top 10 best-selling PlayStation 4 games

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Final Fantasy VII: Remake
4. NBA 2K20
5. Mortal Kombat 11
6. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
7. MLB: The Show 20
8. Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order
9. Madden NFL 20 [EA Sports]
10. Red Dead Redemption II

May 2020: Top 10 best-selling Nintendo Switch games

1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
2. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
3. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition*
4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
6. Just Dance 2020
7. Pokémon: Sword*
8. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
9. Luigi’s Mansion 3*
10. Super Mario Odyssey*

[Source: Venturebeat & NPD]

Craig Majaski

Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.