Video game hardware is selling better than ever in the U.S., according to Circana. But that’s also because it’s more expensive than ever – 12% more expensive per unit sold than last year.
This comes from Circana’s August report, which showed that hardware spending was up 32% year-over-year thanks to the Nintendo Switch 2, sales of which offset double-digit declines in sales of PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and Switch 1. Currently, per Circana, Nintendo Switch 2 sales are trending 77% ahead of the Switch 1’s sales over the same period.
As Piscatella noted on Bluesky, “With 2.4M units sold LTD [life-to-date] over its first 3 months market, Nintendo Switch 2 is now 5% ahead of the previous record setting pace of PlayStation 4, which sold 2.2M units during the 3 months ending January 2014.”
Circana also notes that hardware spending year-to-date has grown 20% year-over-year, and unit sales are up 6.5%. But that’s not necessarily because people are buying more consoles. The average sale price of one unit of video game hardware is up 12.3%, to $453 per unit.
“Yes, hardware is doing well so far this year (thanks to Nintendo Switch 2 of course) – but it’s higher selling prices that are really driving the total spending growth,” Piscatella said.
It was a big month for sports games, with NBA 2K26 topping the charts for August overall as well as on PlayStation and Xbox, and becoming the fifth best-selling game of the year so far. In second was Madden NFL 26, now the tenth best-selling game of the year to date, and also a component of both the EA Sports MVP Bundle (ranking No.8 for August) and the EA Sports Kickoff Bundle (debuting at No.9).
Other new games this month included Mafia: The Old Country debuting at No.3, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater debuting at No.4, and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar debuting at No.19 for August. Gears of War: Reloaded didn’t make the overall best-selling chart, but it debuted at No.6 on PlayStation and No.8 on PC.
Other notable jumps included Helldivers II, which went from No.25 last month to No.14 this month. Analyst Mat Piscatella has said on Bluesky that he is actively working to confirm Helldivers II sales data on Xbox – it’s not currently represented in the Xbox chart. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 jumped from No.24 to No.10, which may be due to its release date falling on August 1 — Circana’s tracking for August began on August 3, so the game’s initial launch was tracked last month but most of the sales since have fallen in the August tracking. Kirby and the Forgotten Land also made a leap from No.36 on Nintendo Switch charts last month to No.6, likely thanks to the release of the Star-Crossed World upgrade pack for Switch 2.
Overall, content spending was up 11% to $4.2 billion for August.
In accessories, the Nintendo Switch 2 pro controller was the best-selling accessory in both unit sales and dollar sales, both for August and for the year so far.
Overall, total games spending was up 11% year-over-year to $4.7 billion, largely thanks to NBA 2K26, the Nintendo Switch 2, and increases in mobile spending.
August 2025 U.S. Top 20 Best-Selling Games:
- NBA 2K26 (NEW)
- Madden NFL 26 (NEW)
- Mafia: The Old Country (NEW)
- Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (NEW)
- EA Sports College Football 26
- Gears of War: Reloaded
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- EA Sports MVP Bundle (2025)
- EA Sports Kickoff Bundle (2025) (NEW)
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles 2
- Minecraft*
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Helldivers II
- Forza Horizon 5
- Grounded 2
- WWE 2K25
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar (NEW)
- Red Dead Redemption II
* Indicates that some or all digital sales are not included in Circana’s data. Some publishers, including Nintendo, do not share certain digital data for this report.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
