Circana: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the only December release that charted.
Circana, a company that tracks the industry, says video game hardware sales will be down by 25% in 2024 compared to last year. Only one December game made the top 10 list, which was MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Only one December game charted on the best-selling games list, that being MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
December 2024 Dollar Sales, Million
| Dec | 2023 Dec |
2024 Change |
Total Video Game Sales (Projected to Total Market) |
| $8,282 | $7,543 | -9% | Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR platforms) |
| $6,054 | $5,761 | -5% | Video Game Hardware |
| $1,555 | $1,112 | -29% | Video Game Accessories |
| $673 | $671 | 0% | *Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower |
The majority of losses for both December and the entire year appear to be due to declining console sales. These have been steadily decreasing all year. Mat Piscatella is Circana’s Circana’s executive producer for game reports. He said that the report stated, “Spending on PlayStation 5 Hardware fell 18% compared to December 20,23. Xbox Series and Switch both declined by 38%. Annual spending on video game hardware finished 25% lower than 2023, at $4.9 billion.”
That said, spending on actual game content for 2024 was up 2% YoY, and was “the 2nd highest total for video game content spending in U.S. history, trailing only 2021’s $52.0 billion,” says Piscatella. Piscatella also added in a post on Bluesky, “But
was expected with Switch being in market for so long and both PS5/XBS past their selling peaks.” Piscatella also added in a post on Bluesky, “But [the decline] was expected with Switch being in market for so long and both PS5/XBS past their selling peaks.”
| 2024 Dollar Sales, Millions | 2023 Year |
2024 Year |
Change |
| Total Video Game Sales (Projected to Total Market) | $59,294 | $58,659 | -1% |
| Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR platforms) | $49,850 | $50,639 | 2% |
| Video Game Hardware | $6,453 | $4,854 | -25% |
| Video Game Accessories | $2,992 | $3,166 | 6% |
*Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower
Accessories expenditures also grew by 6% in 2024 despite a generally lame hardware market, and despite sales in December being flat. Circana’s report also notes that the PS5 DualSense controller in Midnight Black was the accessory with the most units sold. Circana’s report also notes that the PS5’s DualSense controller in Midnight Black was the accessory with the most units sold.
Circana December 2024: Top 20 best-selling games in the U.S.
| Rank | Last Month Rank |
Title | Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 2 | 2 | Madden NFL 25 | Electronic Arts |
| 3 | 4 | EA Sports College Football 25 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | 3 | EA Sports FC 25 | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | 6 | Super Mario Party Jamboree* | Nintendo |
| 6 | 8 | Sonic X Shadow Generations | Sega |
| 7 | 11 | Hogwarts Legacy | Warner Bros. Games |
| 8 | 13 | Astro Bot | Sony (Corp) |
| 9 | 18 | Minecraft^^ | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers |
| 10 | 9 | NBA 2K25* | Take-Two Interactive |
| 11 | 5 | Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 12 | 29 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 13 | 14 | Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 | Sony (Corp) |
| 14 | NEW | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 15 | 37 | Helldivers II | Sony (Corp) |
| 16 | 38 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 17 | 7 | Mario & Luigi: Brothership* | Nintendo |
| 18 | 27 | God of War: Ragnarok | Sony (Corp) |
| 19 | 23 | The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom* | Nintendo |
| 20 | 30 | Just Dance 2025 Edition | Ubisoft |
*Digital sales not included for marked titles
^^ Digital sales on Nintendo platforms not included
As noted above, MachineGames Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was the only launch in December to make Circana’s monthly bestseller charts. Circana’s engagement and sales trackers show that it’s the fourth most popular game on Xbox and third best-selling on the same platform. Circana’s reports do not include Marvel Rivals or Path of Exile 2, but the latter two are included in reports of most daily active users for Steam and consoles. God of War Ragnarok was included in a holiday promotion a few months after it launched on PC. Other titles such as Elden Ring and Helldivers 2 might have received a boost from The Game Awards and a new content launch, respectively.
Circana December 2024: 20 best-selling games of 2024
Rank
Last
| Month | Rank Title Publisher |
1 | 2 |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 | Microsoft (Corp) | 2 | 1 |
| EA Sports College Football 25 | Electronic Arts | 3 | 3 |
| Helldivers II | Sony (Corp) | 4 | 4 |
| Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero | Bandai Namco Entertainment | 5 | 5 |
| NBA 2K25** | Take-Two Interactive | 6 | 7 |
| Madden NFL 25 | Electronic Arts | 7 | 6 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) | Microsoft (Corp) | 8 | 8 |
| EA Sports FC 25 | Electronic Arts | 9 | 10 |
| Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment | 10 | 9 |
| EA Sports MVP Bundle | Electronic Arts | 11 | 14 |
| Hogwarts Legacy | Warner Bros. Games | 12 | 11 |
| Dragon’s Dogma II | Capcom USA | 13 | 12 |
| WWE 2K24** | Take-Two Interactive | 14 | 13 |
| MLB: The Show 24^ | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers | 15 | 15 |
| Grand Theft Auto V** | Take-Two Interactive | 16 | 19 |
| Minecraft^^ | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers | 17 | 16 |
| Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth | Square Enix Inc (Corp) | 18 | 17 |
| Tekken 8 | Bandai Namco Entertainment | 19 | 21 |
| Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 | Sony (Corp) | 20 | 18 |
| NBA 2K24** | Take-Two Interactive | ^ Digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox platforms not included | ** Oct-Dec digital sales not included |
^^ Digital sales on Nintendo platforms not included
It’s not surprising that a Call of Duty title has topped the charts. It’s more like a return of form. Hogwarts Legacy, released last year, was the first title to unseat a Call of Duty game from the top of the Circana bestsellers charts since 2008. The rest of the list is a slight remix from November’s positions, with most of the same games remaining. Circana released individual charts of sales for each console in addition to its year-end list (although Nintendo’s entries are ranked primarily by physical sales, since the company does not provide Circana with digital sales data). Xbox has Red Dead Redemption on their chart but not PlayStation. PlayStation also includes several exclusive titles, including Helldivers II, on its list. Stay in the loop! Receive the latest news daily in your email
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