2023 has been nothing short of an epic year for video games. With the best-selling games this year reaching in the tens of millions of sold, but which are the best-selling games of this year so far?
8 – Dead Island 2 – 2M+
Dead Island 2 was the definition of a game in development hell. First announced at Sony’s E3 2014 media briefing, Dead Island 2 was given a Q2 2015 release date. However, around the time that the game was scheduled to be released, it was announced that the game had moved to a different developer as Yager had been dropped as the game’s developer. Dead Island 2 would subsequently change developers again from Sumo Digital to Dambuster Studios.
The game was shown at Gamescom 2022, where a 3 February 2023 release date was announced. In November 2022, it was announced that the game would be delayed until 28 April 2023 to allow additional development time. In February 2023, the release date was moved up a week to 21 April 2023.
The game received “generally favorable” on launch and sold an impressive 1 million units in the first three days after launch. By May 2023, it was announced that the game had sold over 2 million units with the latest figure being reported as 2.2 million.
7- Street Fighter 6 – 2M+
Street Fighter 6 is the seventh main entry in the Street Fighter franchise and was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S on June 2, 2023. The game was first announced on February 21, 2022, which teased the return of Ryu and Luke.
The game received “universal acclaim” according to review aggregator Metacritic.
Street Fighter 6 sold over 1 million units after its first five days after launch, with Capcom announcing the game had sold two million units by July 2023.
Whilst the game is still a long way from Capcom’s president’s 10 million sales prediction, two million units in such a short space of time is no easy feat.
6 – Final Fantasy XVI – 3M+
Final Fantasy XVI is the sixteenth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, which was released on June 22, 2023, for the PlayStation 5 and PC. The game began conceptual development in 2015 and was officially announced in September 2020.
The game received “generally favorable reviews” according to review aggregator Metacritic and sold over 3 million units during its first week after launch. Square Enix is yet to report its sales data on Final Fantasy XVI after its launch week.
5 – Resident Evil 4 Remake – 5M+
Resident Evil 4 Remake was a huge surprise when it was announced by Capcom in June 2022. The game was announced to be released on March 24, 2023, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.
It sold an impressive four million units in its first two weeks after launch and by July 2023 sold five million units. The sales figures made it one of the fastest-selling Resident Evil games in history.
In fact, Resident Evil 4 Remake was so much of a success that it will also be coming to iPhone and iPad later this year.
4 – Starfield – 10M+ (Players)
Admittingly, Starfield’s player numbers are not similar to sales thanks to the Xbox Game Pass, however, we thought the game was worth mentioning for its staggering feat. Data claims that Starfield passed 2 million players (paying customers) in early access, already giving it a worthy spot in our list. The game was so successful on Xbox Game Pass, that Xbox head Phil Spencer even reported that the game had 1 million concurrent players during its release.
Starfield is the first new IP by Bethesda Game Studios in over twenty-five years. The game was first announced at E3 2018 and finally released on September 6, 2023, on the Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Starfield received “generally favorable” reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.
3 – Diablo IV – 12M+
Diablo IV was an instant hit when it was released on June 5, 2023 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. The game was first announced at Blizzcon 2019 and received a trailer at The Game Awards 2022 with a new trailer and a performance of “Lilith” by singer Halsey.
Diablo IV received “generally favorable” reviews for the Windows and PlayStation 5 versions, and “universal acclaim” for the Xbox Series X version, according to review aggregator Metacritic.
On June 6, 2023, Blizzard Entertainment announced that Diablo IV became the fastest-selling game in Blizzard Entertainment’s history. The game generated over $666 million in revenue in its first five days after launch and was reported to have sold 12 million units by August 2023.
2 – Hogwarts Legacy – 15M+
Despite the Hogwarts Legacy discourse and controversy, the game was one of the biggest-selling games of 2023. The game generated over $1 billion in retail sales, despite only being released on the current generation consoles at the time. The game was so much of a success that it was the top-grossing game of Q1 2023.
According to review aggregator Metacritic, Hogwarts Legacy received “generally favorable” reviews, but was a massive hit with the wider gaming audience.
In fact, recent rumors have suggested that Hogwarts Legacy was so much of a success that a second game is already in development.
1 – Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom – 18.5M+
It’s no surprise that the highly anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) is currently the best-selling game of 2023. First announced to release in 2022, the game was delayed to May 2023.
The game sold more than 10 million copies in its first three days of release and over 18.51 million copies by June 2023, making it one of the best-selling games on the Nintendo Switch.
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Tears of the Kingdom received “universal acclaim.
What do you think of the best-selling games of 2023 so far? Let us know in the comments below.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has sold over 10.5M on Steam alone. Did we just forget about ti because so many people are talking about it?
Where do I find this 10.5M number?