State of Decay 2 on top of US sales chart in May 2018

The NPD Group have reported that the game industry was up year-on-year in May to $685 million compared to $607 million in 2017, an increase of 16 percent. They confirmed that this growth was largely due to accessories and hardware because of a 4 percent drop in software sales year-on-year.

PC and console sales are expected to see steady growth, with digital and boxed PC games predicted to reach $32.3 billion by 2021. This would lead to a compound annual growth rate for the segment of 4.2 percent beginning in 2017. In the same time frame the entire games industry around the world is predicted to reach $180.1 billion, a large portion of which is expected to come from digital game sales.

In may 2018 consumers spent $186 million on hardware, up from $147 million in 2017 meaning a rise of 26 percent. PC and console software sales saw a drop from $285 million in 2017 to $274 million this year, a decrease of 4 percent. Finally accessories saw an increase of 30 percent from £174 million in 2017 to $225 million in 2018.

So far in the year to date figures seem to be faring a lot better, in total the games industry is up by 15 percent at $4,923 compared to $4,288 in 2017. Hardware sales are also up by 15 percent at $1,336 billion compared to $1,159 billion in 2017. PC and console software sales are up by 7 percent at $2,166 billion compared to $2,028 billion in 2017. Finally accessories up by a huge 29 percent at $1,421 billion compared to $1,101 billion this time last year.

Injustice 2 is the reason behind a 4 percent decline in console, portable and PC software sales. The game’s release was too popular to compete with, but even in 2017 the segment was down compared to 2016 due to the launch of blockbusters such as Overwatch, Doom, and Uncharted 4.

State of Decay 2 sold nearly twice as many copies as the original, becoming May’s best-selling game. Microsoft has now, unsurprisingly, acquired the studio after an announcement at E3 2018. Similarly Detroit: Become Human broke sales records for Quantic Dream, with sales over 20 percent more than the launch of their last game, Heavy Rain.

God of War has become the second best-selling game of 2018, making Sony the top publisher for the month, though Ubisoft are still the top publisher for 2018. But it’s Activision Blizzard who have generated the most revenue in the last 12 months.

Nintendo Switch game sales have generated a 90 percent growth in the platforms, leading to the highest revenue for software sales on a Nintendo platform in 2011. This was thanks to a couple of top charted hits such as Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

Below is the top 10 best selling video games in USA in May 2018:

1. State of Decay 2
2. God of War
3. Detroit: Become Human
4. Far Cry 5
5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze*
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. Hyrule Warriors Definitive Ed*
8. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
9. Mario Kart 8*
10. NBA 2K18