The top-selling games of the year in the US are about covert ops and walking mushrooms, according to an industry analyst firm.
The NPD Group released its latest roundup of games industry sales data, accounting for sales both through physical retail and digital channels - except for Nintendo, which keeps its eShop data to itself. Since the end of March also marked the end of the first quarter of 2021, it's a prudent time to look back and see what games have seen the most commercial success so far. Here's the list of the top 10 selling games in the US from January 1 to March 31.
Best-selling games of 2021 so far
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Super Mario 3D World
- Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Monster Hunter: Rise
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
- Mario Kart 8
- Minecraft
- Madden NFL 21
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Outriders
You're not alone if you feel like we've been in a bit of a drought for big games recently. Only three of the top-selling games for the year so far - Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Monster Hunter: Rise, and Outriders - actually came out in 2021. Now here's what sold the best in March specifically.
- Despite Monster Hunter Wilds suffering monstrous performance problems on PC, it still outsold the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in the US
- Marvel Rivals joins Manor Lords, Palworld, and Helldivers 2 as one of Steam's best-selling and most-played new releases of 2024 despite launching at the end of the year
Best-selling games of March 2021
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Monster Hunter: Rise
- Outriders
- Super Mario 3D World
- Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Mario Kart 8
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars
- Minecraft
According to The NPD Group's data, Outriders came in at third place on both Xbox and PlayStation platforms. People Can Fly's new loot shooter debuted on Xbox Game Pass, but it seems like subscribers being able to play for free didn't cut into standard sales as much as you might expect.
That's what's selling best, now take a look at what's the most fun with our list of the best games 2021.
