Elden Ring is no longer 2022’s best-selling game in the United States. Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has surpassed Elden Ring to become the “best-seller” overall for 2022 so far, according to the NPD.
Modern Warfare II was the best-selling game in the US for both October and November in terms of dollar sales, and it is now the “best-seller” for 2022 year-to-date. The NPD didn’t say if this “best-seller” designation pertains to dollar sales, unit sales, or both. But the NPD tells GameSpot that Modern Warfare II enjoyed a successful launch beyond what it originally modeled.
In June, NPD predicted that Elden Ring would outsell Modern Warfare II and finish 2022 as the best-selling premium game in the US. This seemingly is not going to happen, with Modern Warfare II already pacing ahead of Elden Ring. The original prediction was for dollar sales, NPD’s Mat Piscatella told GameSpot. “It’s not that Elden Ring hasn’t performed incredibly well (it certainly has), it’s just that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has vastly exceeded my initial expectations,” he explained.
If Elden Ring can somehow squeeze ahead of Modern Warfare II in December, it would mark just the third time since 2009 that a Call of Duty franchise game did not end the year as the top seller. That probably won’t happen, though, as Call of Duty games tend to perform well at the holidays. Elden Ring probably will, too (it did just win Game of the Year!), but Call of Duty is unquestionably a bigger, better-known franchise.
Elden Ring launched in February, so it had a good amount of lead time to rack up unit sales before Modern Warfare II launched at the end of October. Modern Warfare II had a gigantic launch, bringing in $1 billion in 10 days, faster than any previous Call of Duty game.
Elden Ring has sold more than 17.5 million units worldwide, but NPD’s data only counts sales in the US, making it difficult to assume a sales number for Modern Warfare II. Activision does not share specific unit sales figures in an official capacity. However, Activision president Rob Kostich said in a news release accompanying the NPD’s report that the company is “grateful to our fans, who have come together in record numbers.”
“We know our players always have many entertainment choices in front of them, which our teams recognize and are constantly driving to create exciting, new experiences. Our first mid-season content refresh is only days away, and there’s so much more to come in 2023,” Kostich said.
Season 1 Reloaded launches on December 14, ushering in a range of new content, including the franchise’s first raid.
You can see the top 10 best-selling games of 2022 in the US below, as revealed by the NPD. God of War Ragnarok launched in November and now ranked No. 5 for 2022’s best-selling games overall.
2022 Year-To-Date Top 10 Games In The US
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Elden Ring
- Madden NFL 23
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- God of War Ragnarok
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus*
- Pokemon Scarlet/Violet*
- Horizon Forbidden West
- FIFA 23
- MLB The Show 22^
*Digital sales not included
^Xbox and Switch digital sales not included
