November 2019 was yet another major month for video game sales in the United States (Editor’s Note: Though it was a 19% decline from the same month last year), and we now know which ones came out on top courtesy of the NPD Group. The month was dominated by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, various Nintendo titles, and even the eclectic Death Stranding. It’s expected that Black Friday deals led to many of the month’s sales, of course, as consumers were able to purchase many relatively new releases at a discount. In addition, various sales appeared on digital storefronts for the holidays.
As always, NPD analyst Mat Piscatella published a Twitter thread breaking down November’s sales stats across all platforms. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare the best-selling game for the second month in a row. It also continues to be the year’s best-selling title ahead of NBA 2K20. Other highlights include Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which debuted as the month’s second best-selling game, proving that EA and Respawn have a hit on their hands. Jedi: Fallen Order generated the highest launch month dollar sales in Respawn Entertainment history and is the second best-selling Star Wars game in the U.S., behind 2015’s Star Wars Battlefront.
US NPD SW – Nov 2019 Top 20 Sellers pic.twitter.com/sb5Ra6SWph
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) December 12, 2019
Need for Speed: Heat took the 9th spot on November’s best-selling list, despite having a short marketing cycle. The racer was officially revealed in August of 2019, just a few months ahead of its November release date.
Death Stranding debuted as the 7th best-selling game of the month, which is noteworthy considering its unorthodox gameplay and subject matter, not to mention being on a single platform. The Kojima name likely carried much clout, helping with its success. On the PlayStation 4 alone, Death Stranding was the third best-selling game during the month of November.
Looking at the month more broadly, consumers spent $2.3 billion on video game hardware, software, accessories, and game cards, which is 19% lower than November 2018. Overall spending in 2019 is down year to date by 12%, due at least in part to the close proximity of the next generation of consoles. Below, you’ll find a list of the best-selling games for the month of November, 2019 in the United States.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Pokemon Sword*
- Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack*
- Pokemon Shield*
- Madden NFL 20
- Death Stranding
- NBA 2K20
- Need for Speed: Heat
- Luigi’s Mansion 3*
- FIFA 20
- Borderlands 3
- The Outer Worlds
- Just Dance 2020
- Mario Kart 8*
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Mortal Kombat 11
Note that games with an asterisk have limited tracking that may not fully reflect the data (Nintendo doesn’t track digital sales). These are ordered by what sales tracking is available in the United States.
