Black Ops 6 Surpasses Heavyweights, Eyes Year-End Top Spot

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has taken the top spot on the U.S. sales charts for November 2024 and has already secured the second position in year-to-date rankings, trailing only behind EA Sports College Football 25 by Electronic Arts. This news was shared by Circana Executive Director and industry analyst Mat Piscatella on Bluesky.

The success of Black Ops 6 is particularly impressive as it outperformed heavyweight titles such as Helldivers II (Sony), Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (Bandai Namco Entertainment), Madden NFL 25 (Electronic Arts), and EA Sports FC 25 (Electronic Arts). Given its momentum and positive reviews, it wouldn’t be surprising if the game finishes the year at the top despite releasing just a month earlier.

Over the past decade, the Call of Duty franchise consistently dominated U.S. gaming charts until Hogwarts Legacy broke that streak in 2023. However, with Black Ops 6’s strong performance, it seems poised to reestablish Call of Duty’s reign.

So far, 9.4 million gaming systems have been sold in 2024, significantly lower than the 11.8 million units sold in the same period last year. EA Sports College Football 25 remains the best-selling game of 2024 in the U.S. and has also become the most successful sports title in the country’s history in terms of dollar revenue. Additionally, it has earned a spot among the top 50 highest-grossing games in U.S. history.

November 2024 U.S. Top 20 Best-Selling Games:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Microsoft)
2. Madden NFL 25 (Electronic Arts)
3. EA Sports FC 25 (Electronic Arts)
4. EA Sports College Football 25 (Electronic Arts)
5. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
6. Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo)
7. Mario & Luigi: Brothership (Nintendo)
8. Sonic X Shadow Generations (Sega)
9. NBA 2K25 (Take-Two Interactive)
10. Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Electronic Arts)
11. Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros. Games)
12. DRAGON QUEST III (Square Enix Inc)
13. Astro Bot (Sony)
14. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Sony)
15. Silent Hill 2 (2024) (Konami Digital Ent.)
16. Undisputed (Plaion)
17. Metaphor: ReFantazio (Sega)
18. Minecraft (Multiple Video Game Manufacturers)
19. My Sims: Cozy Bundle (Electronic Arts)
20. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom USA)

2024 U.S. Year-to-Date Top 20 Games (through 11/30/2024):

1. EA Sports College Football 25 (Electronic Arts)
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Microsoft)
3. Helldivers II (Sony)
4. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) (Microsoft)
6. Madden NFL 25 (Electronic Arts)
7. EA Sports FC 25 (Electronic Arts)
8. EA Sports MVP Bundle (Electronic Arts)
9. Elden Ring (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
10. Dragon’s Dogma II (Capcom USA)
11. MLB: The Show 24 (Multiple Video Game Manufacturers)
12. WWE 2K24 (Take-Two Interactive)
13. Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros. Games)
14. Grand Theft Auto V (Take-Two Interactive)
15. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (Square Enix Inc)
16. Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
17. NBA 2K24 (Take-Two Interactive)
18. Minecraft (Multiple Video Game Manufacturers)
19. Madden NFL 24 (Electronic Arts)
20. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Sony)

Overall, the U.S. gaming market generated $5.755 billion in revenue in November 2024, a 7% decrease compared to $6.171 billion in November 2023. This decline was largely driven by the difference in release schedules: Modern Warfare III launched in November 2023, while Black Ops 6 debuted in October 2024. Although mobile and PC/console subscription spending showed growth, console revenue fell by 29%, offsetting these gains.

Spending on PC/console subscriptions rose by 8%, with Game Pass playing a significant role in this growth, partly due to the inclusion of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in the service. Meanwhile, hardware sales remained stable, with slight growth. PlayStation 5 led the month with a 15% increase in spending, while Nintendo Switch sales dipped by 3%, and Xbox Series S|X experienced a significant 29% drop.

The PlayStation 5 Pro accounted for 19% of all PlayStation hardware units sold in November and contributed 28% of the revenue. Sony reported 50% higher dollar earnings compared to the PS4 Pro launch in November 2016, despite selling 12% fewer units.

Nintendo Switch reached a historic milestone, with total sales hitting 46.6 million units in the U.S., surpassing PlayStation 2. It now stands as the second-best-selling console in U.S. history, trailing only the Nintendo DS.

ICYMI… here’s the big thread of all the November US video game market results from Circana. If you’re into that kind of thing.

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— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) December 19, 2024 at 9:45 AM

Source: Circana, Mat Piscatella on Bluesky