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.